Avengers: Derivative Initiative
by Airatio - LunaRue
Summary: Two years later, Fury has no choice but to appease the Council's griping: for security, the Avengers must reunite. Now more than ever, they say, but nothing is wrong... yet. In the meantime, two recruits are made and all bunk in at the Sta—no, Avengers Tower, and no prior place of Stark's ever goes dull.
1. Preface

Sturdily tugging at the verges of his latest invention, the world's only Tony Stark tested the variables and restrictions of the elasticity. He jerked the strategically created and tedious to deal with design left to right, yanking it to and fro his body, all while making sure each pull bounced back into its original form with no stretches or frays in its configuration. The structure was nearly flawless—sharp, durable, temperature substantial, with a dash of his own style, seeing how he wouldn't want it any other way—there was just one more thing that it needed. Pressing a quick design on a holographic screen after situating his innovation onto a flattened plain, the high-tech sewing machine promptly embroidered '_Stark Industries_' onto it his creation. Perfect.

"Brucey," Tony called out to him, impeccably pulling the invention from the device at its last click finished its work and concealing it behind his back. "I did it."

Without elevating his head, Bruce's eyes raised to peak at the man. "Do I really want to know?" he questioned, messing with a pen from between his fingers as he stopped writing his personal notes towards his own studies.

A lightly playful smirk came to his face, Stark revealing the royal-coloured material from behind his back and bestowing it upon his friend. "May I present to you, the Obediently Tractable and Hasty Enlargement -Resilient pants." Moving out from behind the counter, Tony modeled the creation over his own in a joking manner. "Or, the O.T.H.E.R. pants." The self-amusing man _did_ devote a large amount of time on seeking to develop the perfect pants for Bruce's condition, he supposed he deserved the right to poke a little fun—granted, even if he had settled a shorter period on it, he would have done so anyways.

After balling the trousers up and tossing it towards the man's face—he promptly catching them—the curly-haired man rolled his eyes, faintly entertained. "Ha, ha." he dryly replied, not certain what to think about the gift, if that's what he could deem it. Scanning over the implication of the industry's labeled name, he exhaled a short laugh. "I see the company is investing it's time wisely." A genuine grin actually pulled at the corners of his lips without real intention the deeper he thought about it, averting his sight back to his notes as he scribbled some sort of annotation. "Thanks." he thinly acknowledged.

As he sauntered across the room to fetch a snack he left in the corner, Tony smiled to himself, a bit gratified and satisfied with his gift. Before he could punctually respond, he perceived footsteps nearing the room, pausing in mid-step as a set of fingertips hooked around the doorframe.

"Dr. Banner." Rhodes nodded in acknowledgement, "Is Stark around?" Not giving Bruce a chance to reply, the man in question snatched up the bag of chips before changing his direction to the new voice.

"Haven't seen much of you since you made that move down to the West Coast," Tony smirked, planting his feet firmly in front of Rhodes to look him up and down as if it had been years rather than months, "The division over there as good as ours, War Machine?"

Ignoring the remark, Rhodes stuck to his original plan of action, "Tony, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Yeah, didn't think it would be." He shot back cockily, blowing off the question completely, "Come here I've gotta show you something." Glancing back to be sure that Bruce was otherwise distracted, Tony directed his old friend by the shoulder to a more secluded section of the room.

"Listen, Tony, I-" he began again, a small silver circle topped by a very unique looking diamond suddenly putting Rhodes at a loss for words.

"Crazy, right?" Tony's eyes inspected the jewel with the same bewildered expression that he had displayed when first seeing it.

"Insane..." His friend agreed, voice trailing off in pure, unadulterated shock.

"I wanted my best man to be the first one I told." He explained, wrapping his arm around the man in a hearty half hug, "Well, I mean besides Jarv-"

"Where the hell is all this coming from?" Rhodes interrupted, neglecting to return the hug, nor the enthusiasm.

Gripping the very shoulder he had so many times while having similarly impactful conversations in the past, Tony's smile fell, "Rhodie, I looked the Grim Reaper in the face last summer. I could practically smell the embalming fluids on his breath," He reasoned seriously, eye contact not faltering once, "then again that could have just been the whiskey on mine." he admitted with a much more lighthearted shrug, reaching his free hand into the bag of lays. The continents primarily small broken pieces at this point, his hand fumbled aimlessly feeling for something worth grabbing.

Stepping back out of the hold, Rhodes expression contorted into what could only be described as annoyance, "I swear to God Tony, one day you're kidnapped by terrorists and the next your pacemaker is poisoning you." His friend pointed out curtly, snatching the chips put of Tony's hands and putting an end to the rustling.

"Arc reactor." He corrected with an unappreciative scowl, sprinkling what little crumbs he had managed to savage onto his tongue.

"Being on the verge of death is nothing new for you." Rhodes justified his harsh argument, eyes subconsciously finding their way back to the shiny Jewel.

"But I had never accepted it before." Tony deadpanned. Even in the warm room, Rhodes could make out goose bumps blanketing the surface of his friend's arms, the visual of that reaction alone enough to send a chill up his own spine.

"You're being ridiculous." He accused, tensing to prevent the shiver that yearned to pass through him.

"You saw the news cast!" the billionaire maintained heatedly, "I flew into that portal fully expecting to stay there." Casually, Tony brought both hands to their opposite sides and began hastily rubbing his forearms in a futile attempt to rid them of their terror induced texture.

"So what," Rhodes looked up and away from both the jewel and the man holding it, averting his eyes to an uninhabited corner of the room, "you're going to turn your life around because of it? Give up all the sex, drinking, and partying?" A sarcastic chuckle escaped his lips, the back of his hand rising to wipe the nervous beads of sweat threatening to trickle down his forehead.

Arms flying up defensively in front of his chest, Tony sneered, "Now I didn't say that." he corrected, not wanting his message to be misconstrued into something it wasn't. He wanted to up his life's quality, _not_ the other way around.

"Then what are you saying?" Rhodes asked exasperatedly, having grown tired of trying to piece it together on his own.

"I love her Jim." Tony stated simply, unable to explain it, even to himself, in any other way. When it came down to it, Pepper was the only constant that he had in his life.

"I've known you for years," Rhodes bitter tone almost sounded regretful, "and I never once thought you'd want to settle down." Bringing his left hand to rub his temples, the ex-marine winced when the throbbing ceased to soothe. The sudden change in mind set didn't exactly make what he had come to discuss any easier a topic.

"And that's exactly why I have to do it." lips pursing inwardly, his palms clasped together in an attention grabbing clap, "I'm gonna ask her tonight." Tony concluded, forcing a smile onto his face to try and get pumped about the life altering event that scared him more shitless than any enemy he had ever faced. Sticking with one woman for the rest of your life? More importantly, sleeping only with that one woman? Pepper was gorgeous, sure, but the thought of permanently losing the variety made him cringe.

"You should really think about thi-" Before the suggestion could be completed, an all too familiar chorus began blaring from his friend's pocket, one the two had goofed off to the tune of many times even before Ironman's creation.

"I'm on a highhhwayyy to hellll, I'm on a hi-"

Unsheathing the cell from his denim jeans, Tony smirked at the photo ID lighting up the screen. Sliding his thumb across it to answer the call, he left no room for greetings, "Fly on up Bird Man, the window's open!" He instructed, grin shifting to a much more legitimate one. Assuming Barton was being accompanied by that spider of his that just left the star spangled man with a plan.

Constant butting heads had left the two off on not the best of terms, but if nothing else, watching the old timer make a bumbling, ignorant idiot of himself would make his invite worth the 45 cents it cost to mail the man who refused to learn how to set up a Gmail account, "Good talk!" he assured his best male friend with a solid pat on the back before returning to Bruce, leaving Rhodes only to gawk at how little his 'talk' had actually achieved.

"What the Hell does S.H.I.E.L.D. need with Stark Tower?" Clint asked incredulously, one arm around Natasha and the other being used to make various, unnecessary gestures as he spoke. He was normally not the type to get worked up over business matters, but having worked there longer than any others in the room, he knew S.H.I.E.L.D inside and out. More space was the last thing that the organization needed, which could only lead him to the conclusion that there was some new project he wasn't being let on about.

"Fury didn't bother me with specifics." Tony shrugged, more amused by the man's obvious jealousy that he had more information on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s latest shenanigans than he did than concerned with what was going on behind the scenes, "If I had to guess, it's probably-" Stopping mid explanation, Tony, mouth still gawking from his previously vocal course of action, turned to the opening elevator doors.

"Hello." A tall and muscular blond offered hesitantly. He had been personally invited to the event, but still he sensed that his showing up was less than a priority amongst those he came to see. Out of the entire team, the notoriously hermited Bruce included, Steve had always felt the most out of place. He hadn't ever felt the strong brother (or in Natsha's case, sister)-like bond that he had, had with his old team. Not that he expected anybody to every fill the shoes of the Howling Commandos. Now, as the room grew silent due to his presence, the out of place feeling returned full force, "If you all are having a private conversation, we can come back later..." We? Switching his glance down, Tony finally noticed the woman being referred to. A short, pale skinned woman with hair a few shades darker than the man her arm interlocked with. She was attractive he concluded, though when compared to his own woman— Tony's eyes averted back to a rising Pepper Potts— she wasn't all that impressive.

"Don't be ridiculous Steve." Pepper smiled warmly, reaching out to grasp the super soldier's hand with her own, "And who's this?" She furthered, expression still welcoming though her eyebrows furrowed questioningly at Steve's assumed date. Based off of his RSVP, Pepper had been under the impression that the man would be joining them solo.

"Sorry for the intrusion," the only unfamiliar face in the room offered, her own arm extending towards the woman Steve had described as Tony Stark's 'girlfriend', a spectacle she had to see to believe. She had never met the Ironman personally, but the man's reputation was far from private, "I'm Sharon Carter." She continued, her velvet like voice one to rival even Natasha's, "I've heard so many great stories about Steve's friends, I had to meet them all for myself."

Rolling his eyes at the accusation, the tower's owner grimaced, "_Friend_?" he choked out, not trying in the least to disguise his chagrin. His enhanced hearing picking up the subtle scoff better than the rest, Steve shuffled uncomfortably. It had to have been somewhere around Six months since the Asgardians used the tesseract to return home, the last time the Captain had seen or heard from (aside from his invitation to this particular event) any of his fellow Avengers, and still Tony's negative feelings towards him seemed to weigh just as heavy as before.

"It's no intrusion at all." Pepper assured, the impolite comment slipping just under her radar. From the couch nearest to those standing, Clint's famed sharp seeing eyes began examining the unexpected guest, his serious expression taking a break to host a friendlier one.

"Well if it isn't Agent 13." He let his smile hang lopsided as he greeted her alias. A grin of her own emphasizing her already pronounced cheekbones.

"So the hawk does leave the nest for more than just business." She acknowledged joshingly, returning the detailed inspection. Five years and the man hadn't changed one bit, for all she could see with him clothed at least. A more _thorough_ examination could easily help her to decipher if time had made any alterations, but given current relationship statuses, that didn't appear to be an option. Still though, thinking back to the intimate contact made her body pulse.

"It's been a long time Sharon." Clint acknowledged nostalgically, his current lover's grip on him tightening as she recognized the glazed over look that the female was displaying.

Her boyfriend's weight shift snapping her back to the present, Sharon tried her best to regain footing in the conversation, "That's the down side to undercover work." She shrugged nonchalantly, keeping her eyes forward and out of the dangerous path of Natasha's glare.

"Is there really even an upside?" He played back, his intentions for it to be a rhetorical question.

"Not in all cases I suppose," leaning in so that her weight rested primarily against the brawny man to her side, Sharon looked up lovingly at him, "but it worked out pretty well for me."

"She really does make a charming waitress!" Steve chimed, a soft blush painting his cheeks in response to the inconsiderable PDA as he hinted back to the covert mission where they had first been introduced. The way Sharon's lips curled as she shook her head softly made it clear that she had picked up on the silver lining of his statement. It was a conversation she had thought to be finished weeks ago, but still the man would make occasional hints. Her line of work was dangerous, she understood this, but there was no way in hell she'd give it up just to sooth her boyfriend's worries.

Pepper returning to her seated spot in-between Rhodes and Tony, the new pair followed her example by taking the empty couch across from them and to the right of the remaining couple.

"It's a pleasure to see you as well Agent Romanoff." Sharon continued, the pleasant smile she wore as she spoke a lie in itself. The few times she had come across the infamous Widow hadn't exactly been ones to write home about. Earning a subtle nod from the woman who didn't even recognize the agent, not that Natasha would lose any sleep over her lack of recognition, why would she associate with such low level agent anyway?

Turning over to her left, Sharron nudged at her man's chin to prop it upwards, grinning inches from his lips as they assembled on a couch. "It's a bit chilly in here, don't you think, Steve?" the woman chortled in her own words, slipping her finger down the edge of his jaw as it glazed over his neck, hooking at the collar of his shirt. Practically every female in the room had a man to hold onto, only making her sudden impulses stronger; it wasn't like she was particularly supplied with a constant feedback of cuddling or coos herself. Just what kind of /man/ would /Captain America/ be then?

No, it wasn't that; he didn't try to prove to be masculine by not acting out much in physical displays of affection—especially in public—he just wasn't attuned to the impression of it, and over his time, he had found a moreover profound definition of what's proper in a relationship. "Really? I think it feels pretty nice in here." he uttered his own opinion, out of place it would seem by the less than amused expression that curled on Sharron's face. Of course, they've already had this discussion, and Steve by now figuring out what he needed to do. Feeling a bit ashamed from his neglect, he averted his sight before returning the eye contact, blinking as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer. That was good, right? "Better?" A concerned smile perked.

Having quickly grown bored with the senseless small talk, the tower's owner switched his gaze to the un-entertainingly happy couple, a wicked idea formulating, "So..." Tony leaned in to speak the word slowly, not because he felt it necessary to be cautious with asking what he was about to, but to add suspense rather. Putting all catching up to a temporary halt, the faces surrounding turned to look at the loud man inquisitively, "Did it freeze off?" He questioned simply, signature smirk in place.

His eye contact alerting her that she was indeed the one to who the inquiry was directed caused Sharon's expression to furrow into one of bewilderment, "Excuse me?" She finally managed when mannerisms alone didn't seem to be enough for the man to take a hint from. Rolling his eyes and sighing exasperatedly, Tony's glare turned condescending.

"His cock." He explained bluntly if not a bit patronizingly. Honestly, did he half to hold hands with these people and walk them through everything?

Eyelids disappearing into his head, the previously perky Steve's face darkened a shade a second, "Stark!" He exclaimed through a shocked choke, hands shooting instinctively to cover his date's ears.

Turning the corner, pants prototype in hand, the previously hermit-ed man surprised the crowd by giving his ten cents, "I'm actually pretty curious myself..." Bruce admitted in the business-casual tone of voice that only a scientist could in regards to such a topic, primary focus still on the object being clutched.

"That is so inappropriate!" The red faced Captain interjected in the form of a whisper shout, hands still firmly clasped over the woman at his sides ears.

After the initial shock of being man handle wore off, Sharon hastily jerked out of his grip, shooting him a displeased narrowing of the eyes. She was a highly trained field agent, not a child, and she could most certainly handle hearing about her boyfriend's Dick. Unsure of what he did to offend her, seeing as he had only been trying to shield her from the risky language, Steve's expression switched to one of innocent confusion.

"It totally did, didn't it?" Clint contended when neither in the pair defended otherwise, sly smile spreading across his face. Why else would the agent look so bitter after being faced with the question? The red head nestled under his arm raised a brow at the less than adult wording, though after considering the immaturity of the conversation in general, she concluded it to be fitting.

"That question doesn't deserve an answer." Steve stated firmly, purposely avoiding eye contact with all those staring expectantly.

"We're all friend's here," Natasha shrugged, suddenly a tad curious herself, "we won't judge."

"I'll judge." Tony admitted, not that anybody really expected him not to.

"What's the verdict Agent Carter?" Clint interrogated, earning nothing more than a scoff from the blonde.

"Did the Capsicle lose his stick, or what?" Tony finally blurted when then rooms silence began to overwhelm him. He didn't organize (or have Pepper organize, rather) this whole reunion shebang just to sit quietly and breathe in each other's used air.

All eyes on him unsettling even for an ex-performer, Steve's foot tapped antsily, "Just ignore them, Peggy." he suggested firmly. The chivalrous man found it to be in no way accepta- wait, did he say _Peggy_? At that Steve tensed, silently praying that he had misheard himself.

"_Peggy?_" Stark repeated as if to confirm the Captain's worries, memories of conversation's past creeping their way back to the forefront of his mind, "My old man used to work with a woman named Peggy Cart-" Mid-sentence the connection between the two registered. He had seen some pretty impressive family resemblances in his life time, but _damn_, this Carter woman looked just like the older one in his dad's pictures, minus the forties styling of course, "Way to go Cap!" He congratulated as if the hero had conquered some great feat, "Keep'en it in the family!" If his father's stories stood true, then that meant Steve had, had a little fling with this 'Peggy' character, his current date's apparent relative.

Teeth grinding, the young Carter woman abruptly rose to her feet, "You want to know the truth?" She inquired harshly, fueled by both the embarrassment of once again being referred to by her grandmother's name, and the general sexual frustration, "I have no fucking idea what _is_ or _is not_ in his pants!" She spat sharply, fists clenched and knuckles white.

"Sharon!" Her boyfriend exclaimed, shocked to hear such private matters being broadcasted from his date's mouth.

"We've been dating for _four months_ Steve," Sharon looked him seriously in the eyes as she drawled out the time frame, "and you haven't tried anything!"

"Gay." Clint chimed in the form of a fake cough, receiving an eye roll from the red head.

"We have done… things." The bashful man's voice level was low as he defended himself.

"Occasionally kissing with your hands _here_," Sharon brought her palms to her touch the tops of her shoulders, "hasn't qualified since high school."

"What's the rush?" Steve asked honestly, face contorting into a doe eyed expression. Catching him off guard, his date's hands shot up towards his neck.

"This lack of sexual stimulation is turning me into a shrew!" Sharon stressed her point by gripping and yanking at his collar. The hostile act wasn't exactly uncharacteristic of the agent considering her line of work, but still the surprised man in her hold gulped.

Eyebrows furrowed, a grimace became prominent on Tony's face, "_What's the rush?_" Tony repeated almost unintelligibly to himself. He had heard of the four _date_ rule (one he had always succeeded at coaxing his dates out of following), but four _months_? That was just unacceptable, "Cap..." he started hesitantly. Tony had no trouble talking openly about sex, but when it came to more chaste matters, that was when he felt outside of his comfort zone, "are you a _virgin_?" he questioned incredulously. It wasn't like he expected the old fashioned chap to be getting around town or anything, but to have never even been_in_ town? The experienced man cringed at the very thought.

Equally caught off guard by the possibility, Clint's arm around Natasha tightened, "Please tell me Stark's wrong about this one." He almost pleaded, the idea of going over 92 years without the pleasure of a woman's body sending a shiver down his spine.

"You all act like there is something wrong with that." Steve observed innocently, relaxing a bit when Sharon's hold on his collar was released, even if it was only so the woman could cross her arms in a tantrum like manner.

"There is something wrong when the most action that a woman in an adult relationship can get is from reading 50 Shades of Grey." She scolded, still grinding her teeth. At this rate, the majority of the others present found it amazing that the woman had any teeth at all, all but Pepper and Rhodes who seemed to be far too engrossed with their own conversation to follow this one.

"You read that trash?" Tony scoffed, smirking at Pepper jokingly. He had given her the same spiel when he had caught her reading it on the balcony. Her giggling immediately after his remark, the man's smirk was replaced with a light, genuine smile.

"I can't believe that you would say that with so many people around!" Pepper's playful, hushed voice reaching Tony, he turned to retaliate.

"Well, I-" As soon as he began, he stopped, smile downgrading to a grimace at the realization that Pepper's comment had been directed towards his friend, and thus, so was the giggling. Blowing off the blow off, Tony reentered the more public dialogue, "And yes Captain Purity, there is most defiantly something wrong with that."

"Is that what this is about?" Sharon offered eagerly, "You won't touch me because you want to be _pure_?" The way she spat the last word, as if it were the most revolting term that her ears had ever bared witness to, made Steve cringe.

"That is part of it I suppose." he tried. It was the truth; he honestly did want to treat making love as a more delicate subject than most people seemed to. It just felt like the right way to go about things. That and the fact that since he had grown up without a father, Steve had never been properly advised about the subject, meaning that the only knowledge he really had about it was from his guy friends, mainly Bucky. This Knowledge he could pretty much separate into three very basic, very general categories; Stick it in, it feels great, and third and most important, _don't_ get her pregnant. This wasn't very much to go off of, and Steve simply wasn't the type to go into war without a battle plan.

Banging her fist abruptly against the mahogany in front of them, Sharon's scowl made it clear that Steve's admission hadn't exactly helped his case, "Right now, you could throw me on this table, strip me down and shag me in front of _everyone_ and you would still be the purest man in the Continental United States!" She argued, and based on the way she was eyeing up and down said table, she seemed to actually be considering it. Cheeks on fire and eyes alarmed, unsure of how to respond to her suggestion, the Captain simply shook his head no.

"You are in the presence of _Tony Stark_, world renowned playboy." she reasoned, "You think he hasn't propped and porked his fair share of sluts on coffee tables just likes this?" Afraid to further stir her, Steve decided against asking what she meant by 'propped and porked', and simply opted to keep his mouth shut.

Not seeing it right to protest the fact Sharon had publicized, but also not wanting to upset Pepper with the mention of his past activities (Not to say that she herself hadn't enjoyed a few rounds on the very table top being discussed now), the playboy glanced over to see if the comment had upset her.

"Oh, God!" The strawberry blonde laughed, her light tone not exactly what he had been expecting from her, "Not that story again, Rhodie!" She let her weight fall against Rhodes's chest, an action that he welcomed with ease. Had she honestly not heard the Agents loud declaration? By the looks of it, even if she had heard it wouldn't have bothered her. Tony was defiantly not the jealous type, he possessed far too much confidence for that nonsense after all, but the giggling pair's behavior wasn't exactly giving him a warm fuzzy feeling.

"Yep. Tons of sluts." Tony proclaimed loudly in a childish attempt to end the closeness occurring to the right of him. Only permitting him an eye roll in acknowledgment, his longtime employ and reason for the shiny ring in his pocket turned back to her previous conversation. Meanwhile, using one swift movement of her right arm, Sharon cleared the coffee table of all loose paper and trinkets.

"Pants off." She commanded the Captain, the harsh brutality in her voice having the interesting effect of either turning on or frightening every listening body in the vicinity.

"At least go to another level of the building so we don't have to watch." Natasha spat, averting her eyes to an opposing wall.

"But then how will we know if Steve's little Cap survived the Arctic?" Clint inquired seriously, crouched forward with his elbow rested against his upper leg; fist balled to comfortably rest his chin. Weary of the archer's stare directed under his belt, the most red-faced human being to ever step foot into Stark Tower crossed his legs.

"Look at the time…" Steve's strained voice managed as he searched the large room for some form of a clock. The invitation had offered a room to bunk in for the night, but if things were going to keep on their current course, he didn't think that even the super serum could save him from the negative side effects that accompanied the high blood pressure this gathering was resulting in.

"I second Steve's awkward attempt at calling it a night!" Natasha agreed with more enthusiasm than she had expressed throughout the entire evening.

"And make Captain Virginity miss out on such quality mahogany?" Tony asked the redhead dubiously, knocking his fist briskly against the surface, "It's far too sturdy a fucking surface to let a friend pass up!" the table's owner persisted in a way that made it unclear whether he was being sarcastic or not, "I mean _fucking_ the verb, not the adjective," he corrected upon realizing his words could be mistaken to the less _creative_ in the room, "though I suppose that the statement stands true either way." he finished more to himself than the ears listening.

"Jesus, Tony." Pepper finally verbally acknowledged him, "Is it really necessary for you to be such a pervert? Just give it fucking rest." She grimaced, eyes narrowed angrily at her surprised boyfriend, "And I mean _fucking_ the adjective." Pepper finished sharply. Unsure of where the bitterness was stemming from, Stark could only furrow his eyebrows. It wasn't often that the witty man was at a loss for words, but then again it wasn't often that a professional woman employed by a government agency commanded sex in front of her coworkers. Tonight was just full of distasteful surprises.

Sharon's hands yanking at the trim of her own skirt, Steve quickly gripped his palms over hers to immobilize them, "What if I let you call me Peggy?" She tried pathetically in one final desperate attempt. It was despicable and disturbed, she knew this, but for her over the course of the past four months, the phrase 'blue walls' had taken on a new meaning, and she wasn't sure that her ovaries could stand it any longer.

"Freak." Natasha breathed, pulling an intently viewing Clint off the couch by his collar and heading immediately towards the elevator.

"We're leaving." Steve commanded sternly, perturbed that she would even degrade herself to something so scummy. When Sharon refused to stand from the table without first receiving what she cleared it for, her boyfriend simply lifted her, gently throwing her over his shoulder and following Natasha's lead.

"Hold that." Bruce instructed those piling into the elevator. Using the sudden departure to his advantage, he hopped a ride down a floor and back to the lab. Not that seeing the team hadn't been… interesting… he just preferred using his time more productively, 'The world's illnesses aren't going to cure themselves after all.' He thought in a pointless charade to convince himself that he wasn't just eager to try on Tony's gift, 'Purple and green…' he considered, mentally pairing the vibrant fabric with his more assertive side's skin tone, 'what an interesting color combination.' Bruce concluded, intrigued.

"But the party was just getting started!" Tony shouted after, neck arched slightly towards them, but body otherwise remaining strait forward, "We were just about to do body shots!" he joked as the elevator door slammed shut. Puffing out his cheeks before sighing exasperatedly, Tony shuffled in his seat, the unexpected poke of a diamond causing him to both jump up from the pinch and remember his original plan, "Hey Pepper," he began nervously, putting all previous bickering aside to pave the way for more important matters, "Want to, I don't know," he continued, stretching out his limbs in an utmost antsy fashion, "talk to me on the balcony for a second?" Palms sweating, he reached into his back pocket, gripping the ring tightly to remind himself why he was doing this. The action wasn't as reassuring as he had hoped, but the diamond's sharp edge digging painfully into his palm did do a pretty decent job at distracting him from his nerves.

"You go ahead." Pepper shooed him off with a flick of her hand, "I want to stay and talk to Jim." She informed, eyes not once leaving Rhodes's face. His glance on the other hand, redirected apologetically at Tony.

"It'll only take a second," The nervous man pressed, at this point just wanting to get the whole proposal thing over with so they could move onto the holy matrimony, happily ever after jazz, "I just need for you to-"

"I know that you _think_ that it does," Pepper interrupted, frustratedly turning to face the nervous wreck of a man, "but the world doesn't revolve around you, Tony." She reminded coldly.


	2. Chapter 1: Avengers Reassemble

_Two Years Later..._

Trekking down the puddled streets of Frankfort, the clicks of high heels stepped their way down paths, eventually leading to a small bridge with a sobbing child poking her chin over the edge. Gazing at the water, the young girl sniffled and readjusted her grip on the harsh cement boarder as her mother paced about, ignoring her while chatting on the phone. Approaching the young girl who was too distracted to note her arrival, the lady kneeled at her side while adjusting the skirt of her dress. She peered over the side with the child, finally catching her attention as she backed up some.

"Dropped something?" the stranger frowned a bit theatrically, yet sincerely, gaining a protruding lip and dramatic nod when she returned the eye contact.

Pointing at the fading ripples with her tiny fingers, she replied, "I lost Miranda." She blinked, retracting her arm back to wipe away a tear, still wearing the infamous pout. "She's my doll, she's four. I got her for my birthday."

Sighing, the woman she confided to shook her head. "Four? Wow, I'm really sorry to hear that, in fact, when I was about your age, I dropped my favourite stuffed animal at this very bridge, Teddy the Bear. I was really upset, _but_," The child's eyes widened a bit as a smile grew on the older's lips, raising a finger. "I quickly learned that Elizabeth was going to love and take care of Teddy just like I did." A comforted expression meant to reassure the other rested on her face.

The younger grew confused. "Who's Elizabeth?" she muttered through her sleeve that she sheepishly grazed at her bottom lip.

"One of the mermaids down there!" she chimed in a hushed tone.

"_Mermaids_?" Her sleeve fell to her side as she silently whispered in an exasperated tone.

Head tilting to the side, the deep brown eyes that were lightly dashed with make-up gawked right into hers, a little over the top, but with good intention. "You didn't know? Well, it _is_a secret... Can you keep it?" As the other bobbed her head to her question, she poked her finger at the slightly spit-moistened sleeve before pointing out. "Look, there's one now!"

"Wow!" the girl shouted as her eyes were glued to the large splash of an apparent mermaid jumping like a dolphin in and out of the water that she spied. Her volume grabbed the attention of her mother who in immediate response hung up and clutched one of her daughters flailing arms. At first alarmed, the girl inhaled sharply before grinning widely. "Momma, did you see that?"

Jolting at her arm before shooting a scornful look at the unknown other, the mother tugged her daughter away before reconnecting to her line, the girl still going off about the beautiful creature; that at the least left her in a happy state as she regained her composer, patting her dress gently as she realigned the strap of her purse that laid from hip to shoulder like a sash. Catching her final glance at  
the girl still pointing to the water with her free hand, completely relieved from all prior stress, she began to turn around.

_Clap, clap_. "Mermaids, huh?" a deep voice sounded out, his tone sounded a man of his word, one that wouldn't just be messing with a stranger by boldly sounding out the additional outlandish words, "You're not the only one out there," It was his deep, almost kindly sounding Morgan Freeman-styled voice that lured the lady to whirling around that much faster, though it also stood as serious as he let his consonants out as crisp. "Granted, you're probably the only one promoting water pollution." Gesturing his forehead to the distance, both eyed as the little girl dug with her free hand into her mother's purse while distracted, tossing mints into the water before they officially stepped off the bridge.

Although the female smirked kindly to herself, amused, the other remained mildly serious. "Using your powers to stop babies from crying is... sweet. But you were meant for a lot more than this, Dunn." he added, the other turning back to him in shock. He possessed the nature of a man that some may presume was wearing a bulletproof vest under his attire, pretending that to the least was common.

She took a small, defensive step back, prepared to focus her mind; that sort of phrase wasn't something she could just turn off. Tightening a newly formed grip on the strand of her purse, reaching into it as if gripping the nonexistent pepper spray she moreover wouldn't use if she had it. "How did you know my last name? And, powe—"

"Our database covers a lot." he stated simply, as if it were common knowledge, a slight burden requiring patience to have to explain it. "Unfortunately, it does not cover my time." A rising of his eyebrows lead to a relaxation of his shoulders as he continued. "I can see you've apparently faced enough super-power applicable threats in your day." He added in a smoothly sarcastic manner, eyebrows still at their peek.

His words only placed her gawking at a tall dark man, his long leather coat not doing much justice in distinguishing him from the night sky. Behind the bulky, yet smooth coat was more of the colour black—the man certainly had a monochrome style going for him, a questionable eye patch of the similar coal shade covering his left eye to top off the skept-o-meter. '_Database?_' she wondered, yet quicker to defend herself before questioning. "She was upset and her mother even didn't care."

He readjusted his weight, shifting merely as he lowered only one eyebrow to its normal position. "Apparently she did, seeing as she swiped her child away from the stranger who was working her daughter up." his voice retorted back in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Somehow, you don't seem one to be phased by stranger danger." She bounced back, faintly grimacing at his judgment while poking at his own. "Regardless, I did nothing wrong, I just wanted to help. I do wish her mom wasn't so quick to judge, though." She tucked her thin brunette hair behind her ear and nodded promptly.

Although he was taller than her, the way he carried himself intimidatingly was as if he was looking up at the lady, the bright white of his right eye highlighting the deepness of his profound beetle-brown eye tone that were seemingly glued to hers. "That's the way it is in the business. Earn a friend, make an enemy, but you don't seem to phased by it." Lifting his chin up gesturing to her, his voice was clear as day, perking lightly to the words, "You may be just the one for the job."

"Oh, man." she sighed, snapping her fingers. "I have to say, I was really looking forward to taking the week off of my apparently figured out social life." Her expression grew gentle as she felt a little better with nicely teasing with the other, a smile almost appearing on her face when she reminded herself how he couldn't be bluffing if he stuck around this long.

"We've got a saying around here." He nodded, his voice mirroring her comfort, though maintained the serious fluxation he maintained in every statement he said. "Saving the world is a full-time job."

* * *

The blonde attempted to express a dumbfounded look with success—it worked better than the threatening appearance. '_Maybe it would be easier if to if you didn't look as if you could pull a knife out of that creepy coat._'she thought towards him. "Saving the world? Just who do you think you are?" She reached into her jean pocket for her deck of cards in defense to her racing mind.

"Stand down." He avoided her question, gesturing his eyes towards the denim like he knew what she was aiming for. "You seem like an intelligible young lady, so I'm sure you'll understand when I ask you to cooperate, just listen first." His arms adjusted slightly as they remained folded behind his back, still looking up at her, however that was possible. She swallowed back, rolling her own shoulders while standing as tall as she could with her hands at her sides. "Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D." he replied to her positive approach on his insistence.

"Some kind of anti-terrorist organization?" she asked, a bit confused as she scanned her sight all about, curious if she could find a taxi nearby waiting for him or something. The guy looked strange, daunting even, too grim to not regard as a risk for safety purposes. Perhaps if they weren't currently in a city like this, someone would have thought it strange by now, she supposed, but there were all sorts here. Whether a person were suited up or wearing a bikini, this was the area of the sort of judgment she never understood, but didn't have to, as long as everything worked out.

"Something like that." He uttered, almost amused. "That's just one part of our initiative. The rest is top secret."

After spying a stand-alone helicopter perched on the rooftop of one of many tall buildings, she noted its black colour matching the man's own vivid colour scheme, and also how it was marked with an eagle entrapped in a circle with the abbreviated prior term he stated. "You're_ top secret_ and you flaunt your symbol on a copter—one of the moreover noisiest transporters—as your casual get-around?" She  
took her turn of raising an eyebrow.

The strange man's subtle judgment seemed to vanish as she proved to be both observant and true; Director Fury shrugged with his off look. "You'd be surprised how rarely anybody looks up. As I was saying, there was an idea to bring together a group of remarkable people, so when we needed them, they could fight the battles that we as individual never could—"

"Listen, as stunning of a story as this is coming out to be," she interrupted, then held up a finger. "And I am intrigued, I think I just ought to ollie out of here, so I'll just be on my—"

"Cute trick, Wood," the darker man stepped in front of the direction she stepped towards, still keeping his distance, though the act alone assured her he understood her power and it's restrictions, causing her eyes to widen and come to an immediate halt, cutting off her concentration of its kilter. "But did you really think we wouldn't see this coming? Remember that listening thing?"

Giving in, she tossed her hands in the air before crossing her arms across her chest after adjusting her hair out of her lightly freckled face. "Well pardon me for wanting to exit peacefully on the invitation from the man who sketchily wears not only a trench coat, but eye patch simultaneously." She scannered her eyed up and down his get-up. "You dress up for me, Adonis?"

"Beauty is trust, and trust is beauty. That's all most on this Earth know and all most think they need to know."

"Is that part of some recognition code trick of your little company?" the paler questioned, smiling snidely.

"No," he answered the inquiry dumbly, as if he felt the sarcastically stupid question deserved an unintelligible response. "I just felt like saying it. And_ little_?" Releasing a light '_tch_' noise, Fury allowed himself a hint of a smile. "That's the understatement of the year, sweetheart."

This man no longer seemed like a direct danger to the smaller, her having dealt with all sorts of individuals from the illuminated city they found themselves in now. Deciding to work with the man's words, the lady figured she didn't have much to lose and to go by the mentality of the place–the highlight of the lifestyle: bring your life-savings, double it on a lucky roll, and lose it all from a flush. Except, she wouldn't lose, she told herself, just take the risk. "You must carry all that charm in your eyepatch. All the ladies must appreciate your wisdom."

"I thought I left that in my other patch. And it depends on your talking to one of my ex-wifes or my mother." His smile faded, though he earned a light laughter from the other, as if his warming up had to come in special proportions, job coming first in his mindset's priorities. "As I was saying, I've had my eye on you to join what we call the Avengers Initiative."

Lips pursed inwards, a little excited to have spoken to a decent man in a while that seemingly had no negative intentions, she took her risk offer back some. It _was_getting late, and she hadn't slept in a while, an unintentional yawn breaking through reminding her of that. A giggle escaped though towards the singular eye kick. "You know, I'm not too sure if you're even real, of if I'm having some kind of a—"

His face fell flat, as if tired of keeping his going along. "Oh, I am _very_real. The realest person you'll eve—you know what?" Turning around as he lifted his hand to the air, signaling the helicopter drivers, his coat swayed with his shift. "Come and find out for yourself. Why don't you see what you are really made of? Unless you'd rather prance around..." He glanced disapprovingly over his shoulder over the surrounding buildings to a couple wearing a orange-feathered unitard arm-in-arm with a suited man, then back at her. "Here."

Releasing a heavy sigh, she through her cares out of her mind along with the image of the strange pairing. "Fine." she let out, hoisting her hands up in a shrug, stepping up to follow him.

"You've just become part of a bigger universe, and you don't even know it yet." A smirk grew at the corner of his lip after letting out half a chuckle. "Almost forgot. After recent incidents and new establishments adaptabled into our code for," There was a pause, as if he were searching for a better word for what he didn't care to mention. "Your _safety_, I am obligated to inform you that things may get dangerous. Standard precautions, or something another..." His words faded to a mumble as the blades of the copter started to whirl in rotation.

"Right, I feel so much better." she muttered, a half-smile settling itself on her expression before rolling her eyes. "But why do I feel like _that_ may be the understatement of the year?"

* * *

_Meanwhile, on the way to Avengers Tower…_

Airborne in a private jet established by Tony Stark himself, the man eyes the curves of the flight attendant's uniform as it hugged her body snuggly, grabbing the miniscule glass of alcohol she poured for him. "Thanks, babe," he acknowledged her as his voice reverberated into the glass, the distance between the beverage and his lips vanishing speedily. As she allowed herself to smile and nod back she turned around to return to her station. "Way, rotate again… That's right," he _insisted_, his eyes examining every detail. Catching onto his pleasure rather fast, the woman began to put a little hip into her steps as she spun her way closer to him.

"Oh please," Natasha uttered, averting her sight to outside the window; it was a rather starry night, granting a much better view than the one Stair Air provided. "Get a room," her last words escaped her mouth moreover as a mutter as she rested her elbow on an armrest, resting her chin on her fist as a chain reaction.

Smirk was immediately plastered on the dark-eyed man. "If the crowd suggests it," tony sighed, hoisting himself up to his feet as he held out an arm for the lady to lock hers with. "Gretchen," he gestured, tapping his arm with his opposite hand.

"Grace," she corrected, though still hooked her arm around his as they stepped off.

His inaccuracy didn't seem to falter him as he twisted back to the small pack over his shoulder as they treaded away to the back. "Try not to miss me too hard."

In his absence, Steve's head collapsed into his palms, not sure if he should stop his friend or not. "How much longer do we have on this plane?" he questioned through his hands, trying to assess the situation.

Subtly wondering the same thing himself, Clint took his eyes off the redhead who sat adjacent to him and stood up to ask the captain of the flight, promptly coming back to provide the captain of the crew with his answer. "Not that much longer," he breathily stated, permitting himself back to his seat as his hand settled on top of the Natasha's free one over their shared armrest. "We've got less than twenty minutes left."

As the blond recollected himself, his ignorance reassuring him that nothing could happen in only twenty minutes, he rubbed his eyes before recollecting proper posture, rolling his shoulders as he scanned over the group. It has been a while since they had seen each other last, and everything—even the feel of the room—had seemed so different. '_Maybe because everyone's tired_,' he thought to himself, taking note of the late hour. '_Maybe everyone's trying to think about what's going on—yeah, the mission_.'

Bruce typed away on his laptop, creating the only real noise in the area. That was, until a small icon popped up in the corner of his screen, warning him of a certain death of his computer if he did not charge it now. Not feeling a strong desire to search for a cord, already sure that there was some sort of outlet on Stark's creation, he shut his device punctually after saving his files, exhaling promptly when realizing he had to join the uncomfortable silence of the gang.

Catching a glimpse of a small remote, the doctor reached for it and clicked the power button, a screen to his left creating a sandy-like noise as it turned on. "Does anyone mind?" No rejections. "Any requests?" No appeals. Breathing deeply once more, he readjusted himself towards the flat-screen television for slight comfort, flickering around channels to figure out what was what. It was in short time that each of the members of the team too had turned their eyes to the screen. Drowsy, unaware, and bored, all but one of the Avengers were assembled on a jet with these current spirits, having no reconciliation of what they were doing—but when duty calls, they answer.

* * *

**(Characters will be Marvel's, minus Dunn/Wood. Copyright jazz, here you go!)**


	3. Chapter 2: A Stark First Impression

** Just a heads up, there's going to be a lot more of our heroes we all know and love ( mainly my personal favorites, Steve and Tony ;) ) so be sure to stay tuned for that! COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED, we're always up for any suggestions you guys might have! ( Plus, it's a lot easier to write when you know someone's actually reading, so comment it up! ) Have a mathematical day! ^_^**

**-LunaRue**

* * *

"Hiya! I'm Sydney!" The brunette chimed excitedly. Her new colleague leaned forward before looking her up and down, an action that caused the woman to sink down into her seat insecurely. Sydney was thin, spindly even, though her broad shoulders seemed to even her out giving her a kind of model-like appearance. Her skin was sun kissed, the tops of her shoulders and bridge of her nose a shade darker than the rest of her suggesting that her color was from walking outside rather than tanning. Her brown eyes were wide and excited, innocent almost as they wondered about the cabin of the copter. She wore soft blush to compliment her high cheekbones, it's colour similar to that of her short, lightly hugging dress.

Her colleague decided that the girl was fashionable, accessorizing with black wedge heals and a clunky layered necklace. It was all a little over the top though, just who the hell was she trying to impress? "Chloe Wood, nice to meet you." She replied solemnly after completing her inspection.

Sydney beamed at her, earning a single soft laugh and an obviously forced smile. She couldn't blame the woman for being so abrasive, most people would be if put in her shoes. Being unexpectedly pulled from your home wasn't something normally taken well. Though in Sydney's case it wasn't unexpected, and she had been eager to leave her life behind, so she couldn't exactly empathize.

"My last name's Dunn by the way..." She added briskly, curiosity getting the better of her as she let her eyes scan the blonde, "I didn't realize we were giving last names too, but we are, so... it's Dunn." She finished by bobbing her head and animatedly puckering out her lips like a fish. Sydney noted Chloe's much shorter stature, she appeared to be in many ways the polar opposite of herself. Her hair was thick, its waves flowing down to the base of her spine like a golden waterfall. Her large powder blue eyes seemed to compliment her light, freckled skin perfectly. Her body shape was noticeably more voluptuous than her own, a quality she couldn't help but be jealous of. Subconsciously, Sydney squeezed in her arms to readjust her pushup bra.

Chloe's style was comfortable, she concluded, a loose t-shirt over jeans and finished off with worn boots. She obviously had no interest in impressing any of her new teammates. "Cool." The blonde acknowledged, tapping her foot anxiously. If Chloe only knew where this place was, she could be there already and not have to put up with this awkward atmosphere.

"Yep..." Sydney chewed at the inside of her cheek nervously.

Coordinator Furry stood, casually making his way over to the cockpit. "This is Agent Ford." Nick stated with the unsettling sternness they had come to expect from him. The young pilot acknowledged by turning to smile at the new pair, "I will be delegating the majority of tasks involving you to him."

Neither woman was immune to the agent's contagious smile. "Sup?" Ford nodded. He looked to be in his mid-20's maybe, though his thin pencil mustache could have been adding a year or two to his overall appearance. His hair was short and dark, messy yet still obviously managed. A few dark chocolate strands over lapping his opaque sunglass lenses. These contrasted with his light skin dramatically, oddly enough making the man more attractive to the females present.

Both woman couldn't help but find his lanky stature adorable in a familiar way they couldn't quite pinpoint. He reached his long fingers towards a nob on the control board and twisted, effectively blasting the rap song that had been nothing more than background noise before.

Nick shot him a stern look before making his way to the controls and turning off the music completely. "We are going to do this my way." He declared, leaving no room for argument.

"My way!" The two girls shouted simultaneously, quoting a favourited show. They exchanged an awed look. "_You_watch Adventure Time?" Sydney asked, turning excitedly to face the now equally pumped woman to her side.

Chloe declared with sincere elation, "It's only my favorite cartoon ever!" Sydney let her tensed shoulders relax.

"My friends always make fun of me for choosing Cartoon Network over Lifetime." The brunette admitted sheepishly. After graduating high school, everyone seemed to try excessively hard to push childish things aside, a trend she had never felt any need to follow.

"Bastards!" Chloe's tone was serious, but her disposition was one of avidity, "You're never too old for Finn and Jake!" This childish subject was a welcome change from the constant adult image she had to uphold while living on her own in Vegas.

Crossing her legs so that she was seated comfortably, Sydney agreed. "That's what I'm always saying!" A nod of the head summarized the enthusiasm of her opinion. "Plus, I don't think that 19 qualifies as too old for anything..." She mumbled the last bit to herself with an eye roll. She never understood everyone's rush to grow up.

"_You're_19? I'm 19!" Chloe bounced up and down excitedly, expressing a side of herself that Sydney couldn't be happier to see. This was much better, she thought, than the abrasive girl who she had first introduced herself to.

"Weird!" She unbuckled her safety straps to grant herself more mobility, earning a warning glare from the director which she easily shrugged off, "Would you think that I was a complete dork if I told you that for my 19th birthday, my friends and I decorated my cake to look like Finn and Jake?" Her grin widened as she spoke.

"Would you think I was lying if I told you that _my_cake had Lady Rainicorn on it?" She answered the question with a question, earning an impressed jaw drop from Sydney, and a less than satisfied grunt from the man sitting across from them. The director rubbed his hairless head exasperatedly.

What on Earth had he gotten himself into with these two? This was a professional league of world protecting heroes, not some cartoon fan club. There had been so many other well established heroes to choose from; Ant Man, Quake, Spiderman, Black Panther, any of the X-Men were up for grabs, but he had let himself be convinced by the young agent flying the helicopter that they needed to retrieve and train fresh faces. He should have known better than to agree with Ford when he suggested the two women. The agent may have been a very trusted and reliable one, but when it came down to it, he did have quite the reputation; one could argue that his tendencies with women were as bad as Stark's. Nick felt shamed and played for having not connected the dots earlier.

"Woah!" Sydney chose to ignore the director's displeasure with their topic of choice. He had wanted them to find common ground, and they had. Granted, she was sure that he hadn't meant cartoons. She thought back to the reading she had done for herself prior to leaving home. Her tarot cards had foreseen that she would meet a blue eyed blonde woman on her trip, but they hadn't specified that they would have such peculiar things in common!

Curious to see how far these similarities would continue, she carried on the conversation, "Did someone slip a ruffy into the cake batter while you were swimming in the lake too!?" Energized by the odd similarities, Sydney spoke almost too quickly to be understood.

"Ye–wait, what?" Chloe's eyebrows furrowed as her eyes widened dramatically, "No?" The single word seemed almost questioning, as if she were leading on that she was curious in regards to more details.

Sydney blushed, leaning back awkwardly into the arch of her chair. "...Me neither..." Maybe, she decided, she should be a little more cautious of what specifics she gave about her past.

"I actually have a bit of a... phobia." The blonde admittedly bashfully. She was a strong willed woman, admitting weakness wasn't exactly something she had grown too fond of, even if it was only in the presence of only her new team members. It wasn't as if any of them would have need to use it against her.

"Of being drugged?" Sydney's expression contorted into one of understanding.

"Uh... No..." Chloe grimaced, "Of water. I've had a few too many close calls with drowning." She shivered at the bitter memories, concluding that there was no worse feeling than gasping for air only to inhale the icy, salty ocean.

"Oh! I don't much like swimming either." Sydney's expression lightened before returning to its previous state of empathy, "I mean, it's okay I guess, I just don't like having to shave my–"

The director cleared his throat. He could handle the majority of their odd conversation, but be drew the line at hearing about the women's personal hygiene habits.

"I was just gonna say legs..." She almost whined, "but now that I think about it, shaving my lady area to wear bikini bottoms is a real pain too." She finished with a nonchalant shrug.

Chloe threw her head back and laughed at the disturbed look on Fury's face. She figured that the older man was not used to, nor fond of having to see over such young women. Nick took a deep breath, letting himself get stressed about the issue would do nothing more than skyrocket his blood pressure. He reminded himself to focus on the positives, the reasons he had decided on them in the first place. They may be young, immature even–not that he hadn't had to deal with his share of immaturity from the current members–but what they could contribute to the team outweighed these two negatives by a long shot.

Catching a glimpse of the Director's still obviously displeased facial expression, Sydney began laughing along with her new friend.

"Based on that flirtatious giggling, I'd say the two of you hit it off pretty well!" Ford brought his index finger to the bridge of his nose to adjust the dark lensed sunglasses. Despite what he was sure the director thought, Ford had legitimate reasons for suggesting the two women, and though his reasoning may have been more personal than anything, it certainly wasn't personal for what the director assumed. He may have been somewhat of a player, but he had more sense than to add members to the team simply based on personality profiles. If that were the case, then he would have recommended those sexy twin sisters, Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch. "So whatcha' talking about, back there, huh?" If he wasn't allowed to blast his music, the least that Fury could allow was a little friendly conversation between himself and the  
new recruits.

"Oh you know, our wedding plans!" Sydney joked, playing off of his use if the word 'flirtatious'.

"Oh," Ford's lips curled mischievously as he turned to face the co-pilots chair, "Us too!" His smile faltered when his eyes were met with an empty seat. It had been two years, but still, seeing his partner's spot unoccupied made his eyes sting. He cleared his throat and arched his neck to look at the passengers, "Ehem, I mean... so what's so special about you guys? How do you put the super in superhero, eh?"

Chloe raised an eyebrow as she glanced between the agent and his empty neighboring seat. "Wait, what was that?" She questioned, unsatisfied with the way he brushed it off.

"Huh?" The young pilot feigned a lack of comprehension. He knew they had heard him, there was no point in arguing otherwise, but it had been his first good day in a while and he didn't want ruin it.

"Is someone else there normally?" Sydney asked innocently with a slight tilt of her head.

Ford's jaw tightened, his throat going dry at her unintentional blow. "If getting off topic is your ability, that's pretty lame." His sharp tone caused the woman flinch back. He caught himself and quickly softened his mannerisms, not wanting their first impression of him to be a bad one, "Come on," He grinned encouragingly, "Whatcha' got?"

* * *

Treading down the hallway, she flicked her head to the side to sway some hair out of her face as she followed the hallway straight down after exiting the elevator that seemed to take forever to get to where she was now. She admittedly felt a bit empty without her luggage at her side, but it was insisted by the Agent Ford that her cargo would be brought to her room for her—that charade was just classy. More likely, they were going to be scanning through her bags, she guessed, squeezing her grip on the handles of her small backpack she brought as carry-on, so to speak. 'I should have asked the last place that recruited me to be a world-hero what they did with my belongings.' She thought sarcastically.

Chloe peered down at the small note-card that the suited man had given to her, looking for her next instruction. _'Room 100, Room 100. Can't be too hard to find_,' she thought, working her way past the  
unnecessary hall-space to get to the hotel-scene corridor; it obviously had been refurbished recently. Perhaps it was because the rooms were large on the inside? '_Sweet._' To her discontent though, the organization of the structure was off; instead of going down in at an increasing rate, the numbers went down instead. '_Oh well, what's a few more steps?_'

When Chloe had gone halfway across the hall, there was a miniscule cut-out room that possessed an ice machine and a clear-view beverage dispenser that lacked an dollar intake slot and had a keycard slot instead. Raising her eyebrows while creating a '_not bad_' expression, she noticed her pace slowed down to examine this before making her next step slightly more extended—that was until her ears caught on to a strange noise, telling her there was something else in that hole in the wall.

"Well, what do we have here?" A pompous voice sounded out signaling her to spin around, seeing a man step in her line of sight. "Early 7'clock?"—a glimpse to his watch—"It's only 6:15. Eager, bored, or can't afford a watch? Because I've got a solution to all of those." He merely lifted his chin as his eyes scanned over the blonde, leaving her with a scornful expression on her face. Just who did he think she was? Her hand rose to the arch of her hip as she began to open her mouth to retort, but he raised a finger in the air that stopped her. This maybe would have been somewhat more vexing if she had something on her mind that she had to spew, something clever and witty, but nothing exactly came to mind except… well… Alright, she wasn't sure. "Wait, I like voices to be a surprise. The room is 105." He slipped a card from his pocket and clutched it between two fingers before flicking it towards her with subtle accuracy.

Chloe's blue eyes widened a bit, noting his above-meager skill with something as little-valued as cards. Catching it with half-instinct, the other motive simply not wanting to be hit, she glimpsed at it, then back at him, dumbstruck and bothered—the freckled girl thought she caught onto where he was going with this.

"That should get you in. You got your costume in the bag? Go ahead and pamper up, I'll be there in a few." As he rotated back to look at the machine, she stomped your foot down in a small fit of rage, biting down hard as her brows furrowed.

"I am _not _a whore!" Chloe shouted, perhaps a little more loudly than she should have in a hotel. Well, was this technically a hotel? It was the moment that she could hear her mother's words in the back of her head snapping at her to silence herself like she would in these sort of places that she immediately got over it, but did fix her volume. "I have a room of my own here—" She thought it best to not mention that she was now an Avenger, not sure if that could get her kicked out of the organization or something, seeing how this was the highlight of, well, all she left herself with now. "—and I'd rather drown in a lake than be stuck in a room with a scumbag who has to pay for pleasure."

"Ooo." His eyes narrowed some. "Scumbag? Harsh." He finished replying, not sounding the least bit affected whatsoever. He set down whatever mechanism he had in his hand on top of a vending machine as he stepped towards her. "Do you know who I am?" He gave direct eye contact, his bold eyes looking particularly intimidating, but their large size gave them an almost puppy-like innocence. Yeah right, like this man carries any of that. Chloe focused on his eye-bags for a moment to keep her mind off of the only positive attribute you've found so far, also noting the pedophilic flair his unique facial hair pattern. Although he could nearly pull it off, it was still within the field of perversion in its own manner, so she made it count in her head.

Suddenly, he expression of dissatisfaction dropped as it snapped in her mind—that facial hair… Although it had become a hit-or-miss trend going along for the last couple of years, it was only that way for a reason—everyone wanted to show their respect or obsession with their heroes of choice in their own ways. She glimpsed at the keycard for a moment to be positive, having high but doubtful hopes that this would not be as she thought. Chloe kept the glance inconspicuous as she read the listed information she didn't examine before. Tony Stark. It was as if her childish heart sunk when she realized her teenage-self appreciated what turned out to be a man with a douche-bag character.

When she quickly looked back at the man, she tried her best to mimic the look of apathy that he showed—minus his own flair of sass he managed to uphold. "To be honest, I don't think I care." Her voice sounded perfect for the situation, using a lot of self-control to not act excited over the feat. She raised her eyebrows only half-way and gave a pleasant, though obviously sarcastic smile as she trailed her next remark with a light nod. "Now, I've got some unpacki—"

"Hold up." He interrupted, glaring at the ceiling before returning his sight to her. "If I'm not mistaken,"—more cheek—"I believe it was you,"—there's that condescending point—"That didn't correct me in the first place. Not so sharp, are we?"

The blonde pursed her lips inwards in a lack of amusement as silence took its place in the conversation. A gentle huff interrupted the peace; '_how rude of him_,' she internally mused.

"Okay, scratch all that." The tone to his voice remained the same, but he broke the clutch of his hands that he held behind his back during the conversation, extending his right one out towards her. "Hi, my name is Tony Stark. My followers call me Iron Man. My choice vacation destination is Bermuda, and my favourite colour is hot-rod red. My room is down the hall, across from Captain Airhead's. If you get lonely, scared of the dark, or just plain frisky, you know where you find me."

* * *

"Forget it. Risks in the servers have been on red alert for the past two months. Given that nothing has happened, The Council have been spinning in their chairs long enough balancing pencils on their upper lips to the point where they had nothing better to do than have you all collaborate here. I won't even try to sugar coat it." Director Fury explained, not amused and seeming like he would be phased if The Council had heard that themselves—as if he probably hadn't already told them so. "During the course of your stay here in the Avengers tower, we will hold morning trainings to keep ready for any this, that, or the other. Understand?" The case of not having mutual feelings with those above his direction was ever-present with the frustrated man.

Setting his glass on the table, the inebriated man rubbed his hand over his mouth. "So, what you're saying is that the tower that I," He placed his hand directly under his arc reactor that gleamed blue through his black AC/DC band shirt. "So generously donated the terms for," he hoisted for the sake of doing so, rather the need for thanks that he could care less for. "Is the new crated playpen for the world's mightiest superheroes because the big boys want us on a leash?"

Directing his sight to Tony, he inhaled before sighing out, "Essentially. Though we do expect full cooperation, Stark." He examined the glass filled with the corny-coloured beverage. "I still have my eye on you."

"Don't slip on your way out, only got one of those." the lightly tipsy man muttered with a point toward the darkly dressed leader, downing his drink down after his words with his free hand.

As Nick opened his mouth to reprimand the impossible-to-stop male, Bruce shut his eyes, opening his mouth to chime in his say before that conversation–or rather bicker–could go anywhere. "I still don't understand _why_ we have to stay here for the duration of this whole thing. Don't you think that this is all a bit… overkill?" he questioned, removing the reading glasses he wore while prior to the moment for when he was scanning over some documents he brought with him along with a pen tucked behind his ear for possible note taking. '_This obviously won't be a fulfilling meeting_," he thought to himself.

"Stop griping, Green Bean. It's not like you have anywhere more important to be." retorted Tony bitterly. At least his comment was simply confirming what Fury had established, it wasn't knocking it down. Either way, both sounded like things Tony himself would do, but be wasn't in his best mind; he hadn't been in a while now, earning the previous science-provoked friendship to a meager one.

Hooking his glasses onto the collar of his shirt, Bruce stretched his jaw as a flicker of a smile flashed on his face. "And you do?" he mused, looking at the drunkard as if he were a child. "Ever since Pepper left your sorry ass, you've been useless." His fingers fidgeted a bit at his words, almost regretting to had bring it up, knowing it had been a harsh collapse for his buddy he's had better days with, but he didn't. It had been far too long for the man to still mourn over his loss, his grief being placed on other's shoulders too frequently to be dismissed.

In immediate disapproval, Tony grinder his teeth as he shoved his chair back and stood firmly as a threat, Bruce following by mirroring the action in defense. To prevent anything from happening, the patriotic blond stood up promptly and strode between them, extending his arms and placing his hands on the dark eyed individuals' chests to separate them. "That's enough." he stated sternly, giving each one a tenacious look.

A huff of a chuckle escaped from the man wearing a purple button down's lips. "Thanks, Ref," he sarcastically presented gratitude. "But I think I got this one." He knocked his hand off of him, snagging on one of the buttons of his shirt almost pulling it off. Ordinarily this would have caused him to step back, this being moreover a favoured shirt, but he paid it no attention as his the veins pulsed, only a skillful eye could determine the hue of green blotching at his fists and neck. That was the perfect cue for Clint to grow tense, the woman sitting at his side catching on.

Averting her sight to the men, Natasha said what the light brunette man hadn't. "Oh, stop it." she sighed, referring even to Rogers for standing between and getting into it himself.

With a roll of his eyes, Nick Fury faced his palms to the table to grab everyone's attention. "I don't have time for this." he murmured, soon projecting his voice to all in the room. "Everyone go unpack your things and get comfortable. We are all going to be here for a while, so get used to it. You have the rest of tonight and tomorrow to yourselves, after that we will hold training. Bright and early." As a few groans nearly echoed throughout the room as everyone collected all if any items they brought to exit, Tony and Bruce shared one last bit of a stare-off before the blue-shining man held his pinkie and index finger out, pointing first to his eyes, to Bruce's as a, 'I have my eyes on you,' threat.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Pausing in mid-dismissal before he fully walked through the door frame, the director froze, holding a hand up as he half-turned towards the dispatching group. "We have a couple of new recruits, so I expect that you will all make them feel welcome." he added, glancing wearily at Tony–who didn't seem to pay any attention—before scanning over the rest, nodding.

"New recruits?" Clint questioned, tucking in his chair as Tony noticeably perked up, only truly noting the news after the echo of his bird friend.

With a slurred nod, Tony chimed in, "Yeah I saw one of those earlier, nicely done by the way, Fury." A jump of his eyebrows, up then back down, was as if a gesture to say thanks, or good eyes... Truthfully, Fury couldn't tell nor exactly care, releasing a heavy breath of air as he dismissed himself.

The only one who seemed outwardly particularly excited about the prospect of new team members, Steve's mouth marveled a grin at the corners of his lips, turning to the man who said he spied one earlier to the meeting. "Did he look strong?" he asked contentedly, wondering the new possibilities the individual could entail perhaps he could even have a new gym partner. His mind raced through all of the sorts of powers and perks they may possess to contribute to the team.

Smirking, Tony shook his head once, re-visioning his prior incident. "No. But she had a superb ass."


	4. Chapter 3: Captain of Awes

**Quick AN—the original title of this chapter was "_Beginners, Door Splitters, & Sinners, Oh My!_" Just thought you should know, because.. why not? ****Cursing the chapter-character limit, **

**Airatio.**

* * *

"This place is _dope_!" Sydney declared, eyes wide as she took in her surroundings. All she had seen since arriving was the main lobby, two hallways, an elevator, and her friend's room, and already she was absolutely digging Avengers Tower. If she had known that superheroes got to room in a place like this, she would have sent in her resume years ago. Carefully, almost afraid she may somehow manage to break it, she ran her finger along the expensive looking bed frame.

Chloe laughed half-heartedly at the brunette's fascination while skimming her fingertips over a coat and key rack. "Dope?" Personally, she had been living this kind of high life for the past couple years, seeing as she had the ability to jump from five star suite to suite free of charge as long as she could first insure the room's vacancy. Her ways of living wasn't exactly considered 'legal', but why pay for a place to stay if you don't have to?

Lost in her daze, Sydney continued to explore the room, noting every subtle detail. It was clean cut and edgy at the same time. It seemed to be the setting of a futuristic movie rather than a modern day living space. Whoever designed it, she assumed, had not only brains, but style too. Eyes bouncing from piece to piece, the brunette's expectations were being overwhelmed by the second. "I hope my room is like this!" she informed excitedly, pacing quickly towards the blonde.

"Yeah, it's really nice." Chloe all but yawned, lazily stretching out her arms as she made her way towards the bed. She fell to the mattress tiredly, impressed by its softness—it wasn't comfortable enough, however, to make her want to stay. Just when the idea of living in the tower was beginning to seem desirable, she had to go and run into that jerk, and to think, all the years she had spent looking up to, if not idolizing the hero. She should have known it was too good to be true, after all, you can't be rich, smart, attractive, _and_have a good personality. That would just throw off the balance of things.

"Nice?" Sydney spat, seemingly appalled, "_Pshh!_" Chloe winced instinctually in response to the abrupt, harsh sound. "It's wicked! I'm pretty sure that lamp doubles as a strobe light!" Sydney danced animatedly about the larger than average bedroom, humming what soundedto be an upbeat version of '_Drop It Like It's Hot_'.

The blue-eyed woman agreed with a solemn nod. "Yep..." She was not the least bit surprised that the party douche who designed the rooms—it had to be him, money and all—installed such a devise.

Finally catching onto her fairly tranquil disposition, Sydney stopped the humming and dancing all together. "Are you alright?" she inquired, seating herself to the left of Chloe, "You seemed a lot more excited to be here earlier." Unable to resist the temptation of the cloud-like bed, she let her body plop to it, gripping the sheets lightly with her hands.

"Yeah," Chloe sighed, tilting her body and leaning on an elbow to face her friend, "That was before I got an idea of who we're rooming with." Looking for something else to think about, her sight scrolled to her new friend's grasp of the sheets before she herself began assuming the thread-count of them. Having not yet met anyone besides the three in the helicopter, Sydney leaned up to look curiously at her; quickly enough, the freckled caught on. "You know that Stark guy?" Chloe rolled her eyes as she said the name, being sure to put sharp,exaggerated emphasis on the 's'.

"You met _Iron Man_?" The lanky girl shouted, body flying forward in the process. She had known that they would be living in the presence of heroes, but not celebrities!

"Don't call him that." Chloe instructed firmly, mind shooting back to their greeting. '_My followers call me Iron Man_,' he had informed her with that despicable, cocky smirk. She wasn't about to let her friend fuel his ego. "And yes. He was a total jerk…" she continued with slight irritation, crossing her arms, "And he kept looking at my ass!"

As her friend crinkled her gently crinkled her nose in anger, the caramel-haired girl just fluttered her eyelashes in awe. "I'm so excited!" Sydney bounced. She had stopped listening somewhere around '_You know that Stark guy?_' "I didn't know that Iron Man was gonna be here too!" She continued, fists clenched tightly in front of her chest. Sydney wasn't normally one to be flustered by celebrities, but she had a few exceptions; Will Smith, Eminem, Dane Cook, Jesus Christ, and of course, Tony Stark.

"Did you not hear _anything_that I just said?" Chloe shot the starry eyed woman a disbelieving look, one that proved futile as she neglected to notice it.

"Hmmm?" She sang in response, still facing forward.

The blonde grimaced. "Never mind." Suddenly, the plans the pair had made in the helicopter to 'room together the first night' because it would 'be just like a slumber party' didn't seem like as good of an idea as she had originally thought, "I'm gonna take a nap, you probably need to go unpack." she suggested, crossing her fingers that Sydney would take a hint and she wouldn't have to explain further.

"Yeah, okay!" she replied gleefully, failing to notice the sour undertone in Chloe's voice that she tried to cover. "Sweet dreams! Text me when you're up and ready to _party_!" She drawled, shimmying towards the door, her racing eyes freezing at one last prize. "Oh wow,is that an iPod dock? I hope I have one of those too!" She enthused, giving Chloe one final thumbs up before the door clinked shut.

"Yeah..." She sighed in response, rolling onto her stomach. Chloe glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand, wincing when it only read 7:32pm. "Longest fucking day of my life." She mumbled, slamming her face exasperatedly against the mattress.

* * *

Captain Rogers hummed merrily to the tune of '_The Way You Look Tonight_;" he hadn't heard the popular 1930's song in quite literally decades, but that didn't stop him from recalling every beat and lyric. He couldn't help but be chipper at the prospect of finally getting some leisure time. Personal time for the captain usually consisted of things others might consider boring—others meaning mainly Tony, as he voiced his opinion on the matter more than frequently. The billionaire claimed that working out, swimming, and reading didn't qualify as fun. Steve, being a man of much simpler past times, disagreed.

Today, he ventured to do the most strenuous of the three. It had been far too long since he last went a few rounds on one of his punching bags, and with all that had transpired recently, the mounting excitement and anticipation of new team members included, he really needed to exert some energy.

Stopping first by his room to grab a clean towel, Steve then proceeded down the hall, reluctantly changing direction when his stomach roared. The enhanced metabolism thing wasn't exactly his favorite 'perk' to being injected with the serum, seeing as it constantly seemed to impair him. Two-times the average man's appetite wouldn't have been an issue, but four-times? There wasn't an all-you-can-eat buffet in all of New York City that didn't have the man blacklisted.

Deciding to focus on more positive matters, Steve let his mind wonder back to what had been occupying it most since yesterday's meeting. '_New team members! Wow! I wonder if either of them can shape shift. I've always wanted to meet someone who can do that_!' By always, he of course meant ever since Tony made him watch that documentary involvingsome controversy over a 'mutant cure', an event that had transpired years prior which he had missed due to being frozen. He thought that Mystique character being profiled was '_neato, even if she was one of the bad guys_.'

Steve's happy thoughts were put at a sudden halt when an unfamiliar man's aggressive voice boomed throughout the corridor. "Move, bitch! Get out the way! Get out the way, bitch, get out the way!" The combination of volume, aggression, and profanity made for onedastardly mix. To say the least, this guy sounded like trouble. Without second thought, Steve bolted towards the shouting. With each step closer, more ungodly sounds began to make themselves present.

First, he heard the thrashing, and then the feminine yelps. '_A dame_!' Steve's mind exclaimed, alarmed. If there was an innocent woman involved, then the severity was even more so than had been first assumed. He picked up is speed, reaching the scene of the disturbance in half a breath. Fueled by concern for the mysterious woman, he rammed the side of his body full force into the iron door, ripping it from its hinges and sending it hurdling across the room, but the adrenalized man paid no attention to that. "What's wro—" Stevebellowed before even allowing himself to register the scene.

Abruptly cutting him off, the young woman screamed. "What the _heck_?" she exclaimed, the distraction resulting in a mix up in footing, causing her to stumble off of the bed she had been jumping on and onto the tiled floor.

Eyes still scanning for the angered man, they connected with the fallen woman's for only a brief second before his scenery changed from the messy bedroom to a colorful, almost fairytale-like landscape. "Where am I?" the blond man uttered in pure astonishment. He could still hear the deep, violent, almost rhythmic shouting, but the scenery was so mesmerizing that it almost made him forget it entirely.

"Sorry… just… close your eyes, I need to put some pants on." The female instructed calmly, an awkward laugh immediately following the command's explanation.

Reluctantly, the man did as he was told. "Err… pants?" Steve scratched the back of his head, the warm sensation of a blush creeping its way onto his cheeks. He cleared his throat before continuing, "Uh, miss… where are you?" If memory served correct, he had been standing alone on the bright golden path. "Where am I?" He yearned terribly to peakopen just one eye and again see the breath taking landscape.

"Technically, you're in the Avengers Tower." she explained nonchalantly, hands rummaging through her suitcase for suitable bottoms. "Prior to that, it was Stark Tower—did you know that?" The only name that stuck to the man's memory as he tried to shake away the vivid path plastered even behind his eyelids to clutch back to comfort caused him to grimace momentarily. "That big ugly building doesn't come close to what I was seeing." His voice was awed, almost breathy in his reply.

"Yeah... I watched The Wizard of Oz last night." she informed simply, knowing full well that if a person had no knowledge of her ability, then that statement meant nothing to them.

Steve smiled nostalgically at the pleasant memory. "I saw that in theaters!" He wasn't sure what the film had to do with his current whereabouts, but it was rare that anyone made a pop culture reference he understood, so he was happy to discuss it. Mind wondering back to the path he had been on, it almost reminded him of the movie's setting... Almost. The colors when he saw the film had been nothing like _that_.

"Okay, open!" the woman instructed as she latched the single button on her jean shorts. The captain eagerly did so, disappointment washing over him at the realization that he was no longer where he had been moments ago. The dismay quickly switched to fascination towards the stranger standing in front of him, then finally a full circle back to alarm when the violent shouting brought him back to his previous course of action. His questions could wait; right now he had business to take care of.

"_Get out the way, bitch! Get out the way!_" the unknown voice shouted roughly, seemingly not the least bit phased by his presence. The complete lack of shame for his actions only fueled Steve's desire to put an end to it.

He stood tall, fists clenched and nostrils flared as he carried on his futile search for the shouting's source. "Where is that yelling coming from?" he boldly asked in a rushed manner.

Finally understanding the unfamiliar blond man's reasoning for intruding, the woman's dashed towards the iPod dock on her dresser top to press pause. "Sorry, was I playing my music too loud?" Her face contorted apologetically. She should have known better than to put the volume on full blast, she had witnessed firsthand in the helicopter how Fury felt about Agent Ford doing so. "Tell the director that next time, all he has to do is ask me to turn it down." she laughed, mistaking Steve's attempt at being heroic for an unconventional way of relaying a message.

"Music?" He grimaced, tensed shoulders dropping, "Is that what that was?"

"_Ha, ha._" She rolled her eyes. As if she hadn't heard _that_a hundred times before, "I know that it's a stupid song, but it's really fun to dance to!" She smiled, wiggling her hips a little to further her point. The woman extended her right arm to shake his hand. "Sydney Dunn, nice to meet you!" Her smiled widened invitingly, beckoning the man in front of her to accept the gesture.

Only now letting himself truly relax, Steve took her palm in his and shook firmly, eyes subconsciously wondering down her body. "You must be who Stark met earlier…" He mumbled to himself when his gaze met with her still swaying bottom, he noted how its shape was reminiscent of a peach.

"Stark?" Sydney implored feverishly. It was the only word she was able to make out of his quiet statement, "Tony Stark? You know him?" She beamed, hoping she had heard correctly.

Steve quickly snapped out of his daze to give her eye contact, embarrassed when he realized where he had been looking. "Oh, uh, Tony?" Steve sounded almost alarmed as he attempted to regain his footing in the conversation, "Yes!" He nodded feverishly, relievedthat she hadn't seemed to pick up on his prior... lack of focus.

The dark-eyed woman squealed, bouncing up and down on the balls of her bare feet. "That's so cool!" Sydney exclaimed, putting a halt to the bouncing and bringing her left hand to her hip, "Since you guys are friends," She tilted her head curiously. "And you're here," Liftingher hand from her hip, she pointed at the brawny man. "Does that mean that you have superpowers _too_? Not that Tony Stark has 'superpowers', but he is super smart! That's gotta count for something! What's your niche? Super door killing abilities?" Sydney glanced at earlier's destruction, the corners of her lips curling  
playfully.

The man in front of her stood still, eyes wide and jaw slightly unhinged. He had missed everything after, '_that's so cool_!' It wasn't that he wasn't interested in what she had to say, but something about her caused him to freeze up, a feeling that after having experienced consecutively for seventy years, he wasn't overly fond of. The pair stood awkwardly for a moment before the captain cleared his throat. "Steve Rogers. It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am." He returned after realizing she was waiting for some type of response, giving her hand another round of firm shakes.

"Sorry I'm talking so much," Sydney laughed, grinning apologetically at her new acquaintance, "You probably have other stuff you'd rather be—"

"No!" He contended, shouting a little louder than necessary. That all too familiar blush-feeling returning to his face. The spindly woman raised one eyebrow and scrunched in the other as she stepped closer towards him.

"_No_?" She repeated, though her tone much more hushed than his. Steve took a single nervous step back.

"No…" He attested, releasing Sydney's hand that he had unconsciously still been gripping up to this point, "I don't have anything else to do right now, I mean…" he hollowly explained. Unsure of what to do with his hands now that they were free, he latched his thumbs onto the hem of his pockets. Steve let his eyes wonder about the room, stopping when they reached what could be considered a good reason for him to stay. "If you need help cleaning whatever that is…" he suggested in regards to the mess on the floor, gesturing his ocean-like eyes to it.

"You mean my door?" She grinned, taking another step towards Steve only to have him take another step back.

"Oh… whoops…" He frowned, looking down shamefully. "I'll—"

"Don't even worry about it!" she assured genuinely. Taking a deep breath in, Sydney's smile faltered, "Hey…" Her lips parted and eyes shut as she rose on the tips of her toes to lean forward. That non-too fond of frozen sensation returned when Steve suddenly felt thefemale's warm breath grazing the under chin section of his neck. As she inhaled, every un-gelled hair on his body stood straight up, mirroring his uptight stature.

"You smell really good!" Sydney praised with childlike enthusiasm while retracting her nose. She seemed not the least bit concerned that her action might be considered strange, as if she were used to doing these sorts of things. Steve, on the other hand, stood stalk still, his shocked state not even allowing a blink. Growing concerned that the man may actually have somehow managed to die while in her presence, Sydney waved her hand in front of his eyes, earning not the slightest response. "You alright there, big guy?" she questioned, herchoice of words not doing her serious tone justice.

Steve stood still for a few moments longer before making a sudden B-line towards the spot where the young woman's door once stood. "Like I was saying," Steve explained without stopping, "I have so much to do today, so I'm just going to go get started on it all." He quickly exited, leaving the woman behind him more confused than ever.

* * *

The blond paced quickly in the direction of his room, or at least he hoped it was in this direction. His mind wasn't exactly where it had been five minutes ago. When he reached a familiar door, he checked the card key in his hand. "105." he read aloud, content when its number matched with the engraving on the door. Steve, with less accuracy than one would expect from a man with heightened senses, hit his key card against the area of its slot, missing several times before successfully sliding it through. He wiggled the knob, frustrated when it didn't budge. Steve peered down at the slot. Wasn't the little green dot supposed to light up when it unlocked? Had he run it through too fast?

"Why in such a hurry, Cap?" Tony yawned, having been watching the display unbeknownst from his room's open entryway. Honestly, he could care less what his friend was up to, but whiskey had this silly little tendency of making him more social.

Steve mumbled something unintelligible under his breath; this was the last thing he wanted right now. Had it been anybody else, Steve probably wouldn't have minded, but not Tony Stark. The man really had a nag for taking people down a notch or two, and he had been taking every opportunity to do so recently. Steve inhaled heavily. He had nothing to hide, he was just a bit flustered from the strange woman sniffing his neck. He knew, however, that the older—well, in appearance—man across from him would take full advantage of his shaken state.

"Uh, bathroom?" When Steve's voice unintentionally went an octave too high, the dark haired man smirked to himself. Maybe Cap really was up to something that would peak his interest.

"No..." Tony circled the large man like a vulture, "No, I don't think that's it."

Steve quickly tried to regain his composure, not wanting to further his interrogator's suspicions. He sharply turned to the stalking man, stopping him in his tracks. He didn't want to lie to his friend, but spilling the whole story didn't exactly seem like the best play atthis point either. "I think that I met that young woman that you told me about today," was his watered down response. Steve felt relief wash over him. 'Yeah, that was smooth!' He thought proudly, 'I'm definitely in the clear now, but just to seal the deal...' He smiled confidently, "I was just coming to find tools... to help her fix her door." Steve turned back to his door and reinserted the key.

"Oh, I gotcha..." Tony patted the big guy on the back. Steve slowly swiped the key card through and smiled triumphantly. "So the old man's got a little crush, huh?" Tony teased, thumping the back of the taller man's head. Just as he did so, the green dot failed to light up. Was it really possible to swipe too slowly? Steve's smile erased completely.

"Don't be immature," he argued back, still facing the door to avoid revealing his warming cheeks. "I don't have a '_crush_', I was just..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He waved off Steve's defensiveness like it was a fly. "Just keep your little crush to yourself, me and Blondie already hit it off earlier."

At Tony's declaration, his friend's tightened shoulders dropped. "Oh, well good for you," Steve's tone was a tad more bitter than intended. "It's nice that you are taking an interest in someone besides Mrs. Potts for a change." The last part was intended to reassure himself,though it did little in doing so, '_Of course. I find one woman just a little bit cute since Sharon, and... Hold on a second, cute?_'

At that thought, he stopped himself. It wasn't just the 'cute' thing that had ruffled him; there was nothing outlandish about finding a woman attractive. What stood out to him was that he hadn't thought such a thing about any woman in, well, it had to be at least a year now that he thought about it. Was it even healthy to have that little interest in the opposite sex? He had just gotten so caught up in his work and training. Sure, he had gone on a few dates within the two year time frame, but the relationship had died down before it really started. He just couldn't find it in himself to bounce back the way he needed to, nor could he find someone who could truly help him do so.

"Wait," He tilted his head to the side when his friend's description registered, "Did you say she was blonde?" He turned sharply back to Tony, taken back by the harsh glare that he was on the receiving end of; then it hit him. "Ah... Gee. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking..."

The angry man cut him off. "What did I tell you about mentioning her?" Tony spat.

Steve crinkled his nose at the smell of alcohol overpowering his breath. "You've been drinking?" He didn't know why he bothered asking, it might as well have just been an accusation seeing that there was no denying it. If the strong scent hadn't given it away, the man's unsteady disposition would have.

"You know damn well that, that is not why we were talking about." He defended gruffly, agitated that no matter what the issue at hand, the conversation always seemed to find itself back at his 'problem'.

Steve stepped forward and gave Tony a stern look. "You shouldn't be drinking so much." he commanded in a voice that had both the stern edge of a captain and the concerned undertone of a close friend. Tony ignored the intonation, filling the space between them so their chests were touching.

"How many times do I have to tell you people not to mention that _whore_?" He jaw clenched at the last word, wincing as he did so. He may have been bitter towards her, but speaking of the only woman aside from his mother that he had ever loved in such a harsh way still stung, "And shut the hell up about my drinking. I built a fucking super suit out of a box of scraps, I think I'm smart enough to know what's too much for my body to handle." Tony shoved drunkenly at Steve's chest, but the blond man stood his ground.

He tried to keep his expression straight, but a wince similar to Tony's managed to break through his composure. "I refuse to stand by and watch another best friend get himself killed." The stomach turning memory of Bucky falling off the snow blanketed cliffs as he watched helplessly played on loop at the forefront of his mind. "It was tough enough to deal with the first time." he admitted in a way that made it seem like he was talking to himself, volume low and eyes staring off at nothing in particular.

The two stood silent for a few moments before Tony took a step back. "I'm not going to die, Rogers." he assured simply, turning to walk down the hall. "You better not mention her again." He called the  
latter words over his shoulder, not stopping or allowing for eye contact in fear that either may spark another serious conversation, "And don't try anything with Blondie," he warned, though not too seriously. "Not that I'd expect a chaste fellow such as yourself to be making any moves."

Steve ignored his last comment, more concerned with the alleged woman's hair color than the jab. "Blonde?" he repeated, calling down the hall. When he didn't receive an answer, the captain let his serious facade drop. He, at a moderate speed this time, reinserted the key card, turned the knob, entered his room successfully, and slammed the door.

'_If the first day was like this, then I'm certainly not looking forward to the next few months._' he admitted to himself, sighing exasperatedly as he removed his clothes and readied for bed. It was about two hours earlier than normal for him, but with today being like it was, he figured he'd need to be as well rested as possible for tomorrow.

* * *

**If you're reading this, you've read this far, so I thank you just for that! I want to mirror what LR said, and let you rest assured that things will pick up, especially in these next few chapters! If you make yourself known, we will truly appreciate it (and probably cry tears of genuine happiness, of course); if you have any ideas, comments, etc., we'd totally appreciate it, and credit for such will be given! Thank you so much, and enjoy! ****Party on,**

**Airatio.**


	5. Chapter 4: A New Point of View

The pearl of his eye examined all the members standing in an ordered line in front of him, as requested. "You're all big boys and girls; you can introduce yourselves and get along." The director affirmed a special look for each individual as his hands readjusted from his hands to behind his back, thumbs locking. "Frankly, you better, because you'll be cooped here for a while." As his eyebrows rose, he released a huff of air through his nose, hoping he could rely on his words to stand strong.

The novice brunette allowed herself to frown towards her internal let-down. "No adventures? Just here?" she uttered out, her eyes averting to the floor before poking back up to her befriended blonde female at her side. She didn't seem to understand her discontent, as she was bouncing off the walls the night before about how amazing it was. By default, her sight went back to Nick. "Not that I don't like it—I dig it! But, we're not going to hop around? Is that entailed in this superhero stuff?" Her hands simulated what looked like a combination of lightning strikes and strange punches with unclenched fists as she worded 'superhero,' earning her an odd look in return.

"This isn't a field trip, you know." Fury didn't allow himself to settle on the off questions. "There are a few things I want to establish before I let you all take over. You all are a team, and I expect you to act like one. Never ignore a teamma—"

A finger was held up by a man on the far side of the line, polar to the position the newcomers were in, positioned next to a Captain who's thought process was well over the speed limit, not completely attending the meeting in all senses of the word. "Wait a minute, _just_ here?" Tony interrupted, eyes squinted to the floor in artificial thought. "Excuse you if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly sure it was your voice by process of elimination that I heard chanting over the '_dopeness_' of my place from the hallway." His beetle eyes poked over the bodies and heads of the others to examine the only member he hadn't met.

Fury visibly rolled his eye, less than amused. "In this case, it's all right to just ignore Stark."

In reaction, Tony raised the finger neighboring his point that was previously risen, and it wasn't a thumbs up. Chloe pulled Sydney's wide-eyed gawk away from the man, only noting how it was indeed the very Tony Stark who spoke to her. On the other hand, a thought that most of the group that stood between the outspoken members, Chloe furrowed her eyebrows, scoffing at the billionaire's actions. "Oh yeah," she muttered, having a slightly empathetic feeling for the shock—at least she didn't physically show it though. Why would you want to for such a prick? "I've forgotten that this guy's actually a part of high society too."

"_Regardless,_" Fury curved his way in, tired of the commentary, edging towards the door. "I have some important business to attend to. I will be keeping Agent Ford on post to keep an eye on you all." His arm gestured out towards the younger man who flashed a grin to all in the line, greeting the group with a 'sup' nod.

"I guess that makes up for your lack of." Tony clarified, just loud enough for the director to hear as he turned to officially exit. To no real prevail, the retort simply bounced off the leather of the long jacket he wore, not getting to him at all—quite possibly being granted an '_oh, please_,' under his breath.

Cracking his neck a bit from side to side, the agent took over the centered position and raised a single eyebrow to Tony, readjusting his sunglasses on the bridge of his nose that he wore though they were indoors. "You gotta admit..." he almost chuckled. "That crack is seriously getting clichéd."

Steve's untimely notice to Fury's personal dismissal caused him to be slightly discontent from the conversation; shouldn't they be moving onto more productive feats like the director would want? "Okay team," the blond stepped out of the line, mustering up the strength to not look at the girl. '_Don't think about her_,' he thought. '_Focus on the training_.' On the other hand, the female blonde froze up, eyes glued to the model-like man as she felt a rush in her head. "I think it would be best to begin our training immediatel—"

"Oh it's you!" an upbeat voice chimed in, Sydney leaping out of place with her hand pointing towards the newfound leader. "You're the one who busted my door!" Perhaps that wasn't a jolly statement in itself, but she adored meeting people the second time around; sure, she could come off as a bit weird pulling off such reactions, but it was her cheery and strong hold on how she acted that lead people not to question her.

Making a tic noise with his tongue, Tony's head began to bob up and down as a light bulb flicked on in his head, humming before he began to articulate his thoughts to words. "So _that's_ the one you were all flustered on about..." he cooed. "Son of a bitch," His trailing words merged into what sounded like a single one, stated in a moreover 'how about that' intention rather than an insulting mock. "You had me thinking that _that_over there was getting around town."

'_That_?' Chloe's expression grew sour at the man's gesture towards her, all previous waves of butterflies shot. Hooking her arm around Sydney's, the freckled miss tugged at her friend. "Sydney, can I talk to you for a moment?" she questioned, though there wasn't much room for rejection as she pulled her regardless to a corner, ready to curse out the rude man to her friend; maybe she could persuade her to play a prank on him with her powers, something that would get to him more than just words. 'Balded head? Disappearing dick?' her mind raced.

As the two women strode away from the crowd to get away from hearing distance in the large room, a mischievous smirk perked on the corner of the male she plotted after. "Hey Hawkie, check out _that_view." Tony pursed his lips towards his friend, taking a notice that would be expected from him at the blonde's back denim pockets. "Smoking or what?"

A soft smile hinted at Clint's lips, exposing a slight amount of teeth. "Yeah." he almost chuckled, both amused at the nerve of the metal-reliant man for declaring that so loudly—this caused him to watch his own volume—but also in agreement. As her hips swayed lightly with her walk, he added, "I wonder what kind of tricks she's got up her sleeve," this earning him a displeased eye-roll from the neighboring redhead.

"That is hardly appropriate, you guys. They are new teammates, not _eye candy_." the leftover blonde warned, using a phrase he grasped from Tony himself. In response, all men in the room just stared at him, including agent Ford who raised his brow. "Well..." In a stroke of pressure that he caught himself shoved under the bus of, Steve glimpsed over as his eyes brushed over the other body; her shoulders were held high, steps were easy, and her arms hung gentle with the swiftness of each step, her posture being both perfect and astute in a laidback manner. "The brunette looks... keen." he muttered about her appearance, soon averting his eyes before scrolling them around awkwardly like he never said anything at all.

"Don't snap your cap," Tony made fun of his older phrasing of the word 'keen,' using a timed expression that just about doubled up as a pun. "We're all men here,"—another disapproving look from Natasha spurred out, losing her patience by the second. "Some more than others." He shrugged, unfazed.

Glancing at his watch to calculate just how much time was being drained from the pointless musing, Bruce sighed as a not-so-gleeful smile found its was on his face. "May we get on with this?"

"Please..." second Romanova, all too tempted to near towards the exit.

A clap grasped everyone's attention, the moderator catching the drift. "Right, right. Ladies and gentlemen, if I may have your attention please." Chloe glanced once more at Sydney who only shook her head mouthing 'later' as they returned to the broken formation. "We need to get this show on the road, and I'm your four-eye wonder,"—he poked the frame of his shades—"_Not_your babysitter, so if you all can cut to the chase and make action with the traction, we can get this party started, hmm?" His hands circulated in an action that insisted they get moving.

Contradicting the intention of the mini spiel, a pause took over. Figuring the best way to start would be by a true introduction, the steady-eyed man stepped over promptly to Chloe. "Clint Barton, it's nice to meet you. I can..." His eyes scanned over her stealthily, a tactic envied by a certain other in the room, as she never caught on "Well, let's just say I'm S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best shot." After simulating the pulling and firing of an arrow, Clint held about a greeting hand as his smile grew, allowing a single nod. "Hawkeye."

"You are!" she agreed excitedly in response, suddenly remembering that she was after all in a room _filled_with superheroes. "I may just have to call you hot-shot, dude." She gestured towards his moves, trying to mimic them in the air herself before giving him a casual hug, not acknowledging the hand he had bestowed. "Just call me Chloe!"

During her words, the two remaining women made contact. "My name is Natasha Romanova." A Russian accent curled into her dialect while pronouncing her surname, the first time she'd allowed it yet. "I too am an agent with S.H.I.E.L.D. and go under the alias of Black Widow." A gentle smile revealed itself past her green tinted eyes.

Although it should have comforted her, Sydney felt both confused and intimidated. "I'm Sydney Dunn." she mirrored her half-serious tone, a mental note still nailed into her head to use her last name since the helicopter ride. "I remember hearing about you!"—her prior tone faded to one of her own—"If you don't mind me asking, why is that your name?

"It doesn't require as much thought as you think it may." a voice answered as the two shook hands, a man with slightly curly, dark hair stepping up as Natasha turned to the shorter girl. The silent meeting between Chloe and Natasha formulated to another hug to her dismay. Still, she reacted pleasantly. "Bruce Banner, pleasure." he informed Sydney after smirking at his friend's false kindness, shaking her hand firmly. "I'll keep my alter ego at a distance."

"You're not..." Chloe murmured, pealing from her embrace. "What does the term 'gamma radiation,' mean to you?" A slightly agitated press of the lips from Bruce as he shut his eyes, not taking a liking to where this was turning, answered the question whole-heartedly. "You are! That's _so_cool! Nice to meet you, Hulk!" She hopped towards the man, holding up a hand for a high-five. "Am I right?"

His palm met hers softly. "Right..." he replied, working at that grin.

"Well aren't quite a charmer." Tony added in while watching, then flickered his eyes to see Sydney attempting to hug Natasha to act more correspondingly to how these greetings were going, it seemed, but not completing the gesture. With a quick snap, the brunette's attention was caught off kilter when she saw a man she'd have no trouble  
embracing from over Natasha's shoulder.

"Well, hey you!" Sydney sang, skipping towards the man who had done well with blending into the background. "I got my door fixed, by the way." Opening her arms overly wide, she wrapped them around him invitingly and she smiled, feeling the toned stomach of his against her own slim frame. 'He's _ripped_...' she thought. 'In more places than just his arms!' "You finish those errands of yours, uh..." Her mind flustered about in mere frustration, though she did well not to show it; she was rotten at remembering names. "Mr. Door Destructor?"

"St—_eve_." his voice popped as his grasp as his coolness collided to the floor; his mind went back to their first meeting. An arm hesitantly wrapped around her in return, never placing full weight against her as his eyebrows narrowed. "Ah, sorry, hiccups? And, I'm sorry about tha—" Once again, we was interrupted by is off breathing from being uneasy. His expression falling flat for a mere moment, he sighed, pulling away. "I'm known as Captain America, you could say. It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, ma'a—" Hiccup; it wasn't even worth finishing. Instead, Steve let out a defeated smile.

"Woah," she admired. "That's really neat! Is this your shield arm?" Her hand slivered up the muscle of an arm. Imagining the blue material stretched over the hardly rough skin, she almost found it a shame that he had to where it at all.

"Captain! _The_ Captain?" one emphasized, beaming when she realized his heroic identity as it clicked with the one she knew. "I am Chloe Wood! It's _very_nice to meet you." Her eyes grazed over him, she paused at his neck as it jumped with a hiccup, then went to appreciating his jawline for a slim moment before blue met blue when she connected eye contact.

His eyes bounced between the two women, ending with a prolonged look at the taller. "I think I need to get a quick drink." he announced, pointing from his throat to his mouth. "Excuse me, pardon." He weaved his way from between the girls, earning a chuckle from Tony and a nod from Natasha.

"So, what do you guys do?" Clint questioned, rotating his shoulders for comfort.

"Is no one going to ask about me?" A smooth voice pitched in as he hoisted his hands. "Tony Stark? The man of the hour, year, century?"

"Well, I have the ability to, well, teleport, I guess you'd say." Chloe explained, purposely toppling over the prior comment as if it were never mentioned. "I envision or think of a room or place, and appear there by phrasing through a surface, falling in the opposing way. Like," she kneeled down to point to the floor. "If I did it now, I'd go through the floor—" Standing back up, she raised to her tiptoes. "—and land at my destination through the ceiling. Landing can get harsh... But it's the same thing for all directions. Go through a wall on the left, come in a wall on the right like I just walked through it to the next place!"

Everyone stood in front of her and just watched, shivers poking at her shoulders as she almost felt nervous explaining; was she boring or even making sense? She never had to detail her power much in the past. Feeling into her pocket, she clutched something to pull out. "It's sort of useful, but for defense, I designed this deck of cards—there's nothing strange about carrying these babes around the city. They have sharpened edges though, the pigment on the paper infused with..." She thought she moved on, but felt this would prolong too. "Well, different things for different cards. Weapon of choice, if you may."

Clint's hand massaged his chin as he nodded. "I use a bow and arrows, each tend to have their own attributes too." His eyes grew for a moment. "We should talk about it sometime, maybe we could benefit off each other."

"I'm a bit interested myself... Mind if I take a look at this deck?" Banner added in as she shifted his weight onto mainly one leg. Chloe responded in a chipper manner towards Clint with a smile, and then gently tossed the deck of self-customized cards towards the man. "I'll have it back to you by tonight." he assured as he aligned his glasses with his eyes, looking at the box before beginning to peck at the slot to open it.

"Well, I am Sydney!" the girl literally stood forth, glancing around as she broke the short silence. "If I wanted to though, I could make you think otherwise." Her tone was doused with a sly twist as she halfway teased. "I can manipulate thoughts and images of people, and I think animals sometimes... They can't talk and I don't want to torture them or anything, so I'm not really sure!" Popping up with a light shrug, Sydney was tempted to give them an example, but she wanted the element of surprise to be on her side in the future. "But yeah! I guess I don't really have a cool weapon, but it would be really fun to learn pressure points or something..!"

Seeming particularly intrigued, the female spy examined and judged the girl. "Perhaps that could be arranged. Any prior training?" she asked. When Sydney shook her head showing an answer Natasha didn't expect, she sighed, tilting her head to the side. "Well, this should be interesting."

"I could make you a little something, for a little something in return." Tony suggested, raising a single eyebrow as he advanced on the spindly girl, his mind coming up with quite a few ideas.

Sydney's eyes widened as she approached him happily. "Oh, really? That would be nice!" she told him, earning her some sketchy looks from the audience. "Should I bake you something? I really don't know what I could make that money can't buy..." she pondered, halting in thought before peeking up. "Wait, I make these crazy awesome mint chocolates!"

Returning from the miniscule refrigerator in the corner of the room, Steve broke the bond between the bottle and his lips, pointing with the hand that grasped the bottle at Sydney. "I love mint and chocolate!" he exclaimed, remembering one of the treats they used to sell at the ball games. "I wish I could make gourmet food."

Sydney pursed her lips inward as she internally counted how many she'd have to make thus far. "I'll make you some too then, S..."—darn it!—"So, would anyone else like any?"

Flicking two fingers in the air past his crossed arms as he leaned against the wall, Agent Ford opted. "Count me in." There were better things in the world, but homemade mint chocolates were up there, he thought.

Her shoulder lifting up, Chloe gestured her chin toward Steve, her eyes never much leaving him to begin with. "I'm really good at cooking myself, Steve. Maybe I can give you some pointers in the kitchen later!" she implied, hoping to get some time alone with the captain; if there was anyone to be interested into in this place, approaching this man seemed like the road to El Dorado. He possessed an innocent charm along with promising looks that topped off any man Chloe had spoken to in the last three or so years.

Just as Steve began to open his mouth to reply, another voice topped the nonexistent. "Can we cut to the training? I have something I need to get to today..." Natasha mentioned, not overly fond of the diversions the group kept creating.

Getting off the wall, Ford exhaled, nodding. "Alright, sweetheart." He casually responded, snapping his fingers once in the air to grasp the attention of everyone that he had already. "How about this, Tony, Steve," The pair looked at each other, nearly grimacing—whether in disappointment or annoyance, he wasn't sure. "You two hit the wrestle corner. Brucey Baby, I want to work with you for a bit, actually!" By work, he meant, 'It's best you don't fight as of now just in case, and the director told me to give you something else to fill your time, so why don't you help me with my paperwork,' which in turn, meant, 'Why don't you do my paperwork.' Bruce fully caught on, regardless of the lack of an explanation. "Clint, how about you give some pointers of defense to Sydney? I feel like Natasha and Chloe should train with accuracy."

Clint nodded after biting the inside of his cheek. "Isn't that a little mixed up?" he brought up, seeing as Natasha mostly used herself—besides a firearm in cases—in battle, while _Hawkeye_... That is pretty self-explanatory. "I mean, I'm sure we both can do it, but—"

"I don't think that's a good idea." Ford muttered, his nose scrunching a bit. Both Clint and Natasha seemed confused by this, it showing well on both their faces; the rest couldn't seem to care less, but their excuse-expectant stares weren't big on the agent's 'do want' list. "I'm just doing as I was told!" he half-ass explained as he put a hand on his chest, the other hoisted at the same level with the palm shown outward. "Listen, if there's any problems—which there won't be—we'll rearrange. Trust a brother, will ya?

"He's right, this will be fine." Steve said, for once being the first to catch the overall feel of the room. They needed to move on, actually train; the idea actually sounded quite nice. "Avengers," he called, helplessly smirking at the term he hadn't used in quite some time. "Divide and conquer!"

* * *

"You're a really great teacher, Nat! And Syd, you caught on pretty fast, you're going to be _so_ awesome!" As the group broke from their trainings for a water break, Chloe boasted for her new friends the entire way to the circular tables in the corner of the training room. "_You_had some really nice moves out there!" she added on, rubbing her shoulder against Steve's, who gleefully grinned in return. As her heart pounded, her enthusiasm shot to her face as she forced herself to look elsewhere. "And you, impeccable skills!" she complimented Clint, he smirking sweetly in response. She wanted to lift Bruce up too, yet he had been speaking to Ford the entire time going over papers for some odd reason. Why didn't he train?

Raising an eyebrow as he pulled out a seat, Tony turned to the blonde. "What about me?" he inquired, wiping a miniscule amount of sweat off his forehead before grabbing a water bottle from Sydney who kindly distributed them from a mini-refrigerator nearby.

"Nice weapon." she muttered bitterly, taking a large gulp of her beverage.

Breaking the seal of his cap, the man scoffed back, not even particularly noting that he never even equipt a weapon after all this time. "That has nothing to do with _me_." He sat down smoothly, never breaking his eye contact.

Not complying with his uphold, Chloe pretended to read the nutrition facts of the water—as if that did better justice—before glancing back up to him. "Do you even have any powers?" she murmured.

"Loudmouth, pervert, master of argumentativeness..." Natasha caught onto the words, replying with the man's strengths promptly as she twirled her water bottle in circles. "All he does is mess around, and if in the process he saves the day, he'll take that award too." Although she didn't mean every ounce of the words so literally, in a general sense, it was all the truth. Little to mention, Tony wasn't on everyone's favourite list at the moment, she being on the hit list of Stark's in both senses of the phrase.

Hoisting his arms lackadaisically, the targeted man let out a not so humour-filled laugh. "Hahah, I don't know what to tell you,"—a shrug—"I'm just a weak, lazy bum. All I want is a fun, easy life. That's it nothing more, nothing less!" There was a silence in the air, followed by some subtle nods. "That's a joke by the way." he added simply, taking a sip; after all, he did create his own power and life source.

"You're a joke." Bruce sighed, rubbing his eyes after tucking his reading glasses onto the v-neck of his button-down shirt.

Keeping her eyes on the details of the room from admiration, to scoping out the expressions of everyone in the room, Sydney kept her eyes peeled better than her hearing. She saw Chloe fleeting glimpses of Steve accidentally dropping beads of water on his shirt, trying to wipe it away with his hand, and then turned her head to a very bored looking man. "Hey, Agent! You have any powers?" she asked bubbly, smiling as she did so.

His eyes glinted a bit as he backed off the wall, shades dripping down his nose as he blinked rapidly, having dozed off a bit. Touching his sunglasses back in proper place, a gentle chuckle followed his smirk. "_Shh_," he hushed, pressing a finger to his lips. "That's a secret. If I told you, what fun would that be?"

"He's just an agent," Clint tossed in, grinning. "They don't have any powers."

Stepping up, Ford adjusted his loosened his already dangling tie some before cracking his knuckles joshingly. "Wanna bet, baby?" he challenged jokingly, pressing his lips firm together as he pretended to be charging some sort of power, releasing tension off his shoulders. "You on me, let's go!" He tossed up his fists in a stereotypical brawling pose.

Laughing under his breath, the light brunette man nodded as he lifted a hand, holding a bottle in the other. "I like to think that I'm smart enough not to start trouble when I don't understand the situation." He teased. "I fold." He took a sip of his water, taking a liking to the agent he hadn't quite meet yet; Clint had been working with the organization for some time now, concluding most agents were kiss-ups or a bit drab. This agent was different.

"That's what I thought." Ford replied, placing his hands on his hips. "Now come on, my little boonies,"—he scooped his hand in the air, gesturing back to the rest of the room. "Let's get back into the game!"

* * *

Steps approached the office-like room. "You called for me, Director?" a voice made itself present after observing the room from the door frame. Seeing Fury stand nearby a computer, Clint invited himself in as he scanned over a few screens around him that were flickering with data. Focusing on the illuminated screen his boss opened a new browser on, a face came up of a familiar profile. "Is something wrong?"

"Not quite." The cloaked man stated, the tone of his voice not hinting at whether it was an under or overstatement, or just genuinely not an issue at all. Glancing at the screen to assure it was the way he wanted, he turned his direct attention to his summoned visitor. "So obviously by now, you've officially met the new recruits, correct?"—a nod in response—"Chloe Wood, age 19. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but some might say she..." He glimpsed to the screen before giving Clint a look that screamed, '_are you picking up what I'm putting down_?' "Has your eyes?"

Rather confused, Agent Barton tilted his head barely to the side as his lips pressed firm together, his eyelids narrowing in puzzlement; the woman had never mentioned this at training. "You're telling me that we've got another keen eye in the group now?" he questioned, peering of in the corner of his sight. "I don't mean to undermine your authority, sir, but—"

"No," Nick mused in nearly the most sarcastic tone manageable without any intention. "Not like _that_." The flux of his voice didn't change much as he recovered his hand from a near facepalm, realizing how his words twisted against his true meaning.

"Oh." Clint huffed, allowing himself a gentle smirk. "For a second I thought you were laying me off, Director."

Head shaking just once as his expression barely faded, he seemed as if he questioned his judgment. "Barton, you have been working with S.H.I.E.L.D. for years, you are our best shot and rank easily as our top reliable agents." Instead of sounding like a compliment, his remark came off almost sassy, as if to think otherwise was ridiculous. "Take my words a little more literally, son." he added calmly, turning back to the technology to pull up another round of data. When the screen didn't react, Fury began muttering incoherently under his breath, clicking around until there was nothing left he could think to do. "Damn computer system..." he finally sounded out.

"Your time has expired, sir. Please reestablishment your connection with you log in and password." a voice with an off, almost technological sound let out through the surround-sound system built within the room.

Unamused at the response the computer had given due to how it was provoked by his concluding mumble, the director shot a bitter eye roll to the non-existent being, regretful that he triggered its reply. He used to not mind the voice-reacting server, but through time, it only grew on his nerves; J.A.R.V.I.S. was one thing, but the S.H.I.E.L.D. programmes weren't the least bit appealing to him anymore. "I am right here," he retorted. "Just bring up the other screen, please." The way he pronounced his final word wasn't too kindly deep down, which was obvious by his undertone while his hands hoisted to his hips.

"I am not programmed to override the server during non-emergent circumstances." it answered. "Please reestablishment your connection with you log in and password if you wish to continue."

Grumbling under his breath once more, Fury reregistered, Clint crossing his arms to himself in his own sort of joy at seeing Nick so flustered with technology which was not the usual case. "_Hi, computer._" he murmured with his light contentment. "You know, I've never known whether or not _I_should speak back to the computer." It was always everyone else who clicked and tapped screens, only the moreover big shot leaders who were apparently bold enough to speak to technology; surely the heroes qualified.

"Not unless you want to annoy me, Barton." Fury broke the news to him in the same flat tone.

"I appreciate the thought." the vague voice pitched in.

His last press overly harsh than necessary, the almost jumbled man recollected himself completely as he finally posted the data he aimed for to be visible. "As I was saying," he began. "Legally, her name is Chloe Wood by her documents, but if you take a closer look at her records." A pause. "Let's just say the chick doesn't fall too far from the nest."

Reviewing the words projected, not wanting to jump to any particular thought without proof, a name removed all doubt as he read the listings internally: Birth Mother, Juliana E. Wood; Birth Father, Harold C. Barton. Wide eyed, he sharpened his view to his boss. "You mean to tell me I have a half-sister, and I never knew? That's not even possib—" Nick Fury raised an eyebrow, sending him a thought with a simple gesture that he'd rather not explain how it was; surely the man was capable by now of understanding affairs. "—Well... just..." Clint wasn't sure if he wanted to believe it, but having a doubt with this database was like arguing with a dictionary. "She's _here_?"

"Yep." A simple word, but it affirmed it all. "Perhaps, you'll be training you eye for all sorts of threats."

The pair's eyes locked, verifying that the enforcement of his phrase was understood. _'Stark_,' their minds rang simultaneously.

* * *

**Heya, just a little note: Since we do update every Monday, we still will next week, but instead of a complete chapter, we are adding another segment to our preface. We're really excited about the idea, and it's going to include ALL the heroes before the two-year jump. Hopefully it'll make it more interesting~! Until we meet again,**

**Airatio.**


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